Chris Jordan's four-wicket haul, including a hat-trick, propelled England to a 10-wicket victory over the United States, while South Africa edged past the West Indies by three wickets in a rain-affected match. Both teams secured their places in the T20 World Cup semi-finals on Sunday.
Jordan, a 35-year-old allrounder born in Barbados, justified his recall with remarkable figures of 4-10 in 2.5 overs, helping England dismiss the United States for 115. England captain Jos Buttler then led the chase with an unbeaten 83, hitting five sixes in an over from Harmeet Singh, as England reached their target in just 9.4 overs.
Buttler, facing 38 balls, hit six fours and seven sixes. However, the day belonged to Jordan, whose hat-trick was the third of the tournament and the first by an England bowler in any men's T20 international.
"Unbelievable feeling, more importantly to restrict USA and to do it in a special place like this is always nice," said Jordan. "Been on a hat-trick a few times, nice to get it on target this time."
Buttler added: "I wanted to bring CJ back in to add a little bit of depth to the batting and we know what he is capable of with the ball. He executed it fantastically well, and a World Cup hat-trick is a great effort."
The United States, surprising many by reaching the second round, were 115-6 when Jordan bowled the 19th over. Jordan dismissed Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Nosthush Kenjige, and Saurabh Netravalkar to complete his hat-trick and end the innings.
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid contributed with 2-13, dismissing Aaron Jones and Nitish Kumar, who scored the highest for the US with 30. England's quick victory guaranteed their semi-final spot regardless of other results.
In Antigua, South Africa defeated the West Indies by three wickets in a rain-affected match to reach the T20 World Cup semi-finals and eliminate the hosts. Chasing a revised 123 off 17 overs, South Africa reached their target at 124-7 when Marco Jansen hit a six off the first ball of the final over.
Tabraiz Shamsi, man of the match, took 3-27 after South Africa restricted the West Indies to 135-8. Roston Chase top-scored with 52 and took 3-12, but Jansen's unbeaten 21 ensured victory for South Africa.
"The last time I played here I went for 50 runs and there was a lot of chatter going around," said Shamsi. "I was happy to come back and perform my role, but credit as well to the guys who bowled before me because they set it up beautifully."
South Africa captain Aiden Markram admitted to nerves during the chase. "There's a lot of relief at making the semi-finals but we're not going to be brainwashed by that because we would have liked to be a lot more convincing," he said.
South Africa join England as the semi-final qualifiers from Super Eight Group 2.
(With inputs from AFP)
John Denham
