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England T20 World Cup defence on the brink after heavy defeat to Australia

It was supposed to be a game of relatively little consequence, the Ashes rivalry laid on for the sake of the broadcasters amid an expectation that England and Australia would sweep aside the associate teams in Group B. As the two seeds, they would swan into predetermined slots in the Super Eight stage.

But by following Tuesday’s washout against Scotland with a heavy 36-run defeat to their oldest rivals in sweltering Bridgetown, Jos Buttler’s defending champions have been plunged into a world of net run-rate calculations and weather forecasts when they meet Oman and Namibia in Antigua over the next week. Even dispensing with those two by heavy margins may not be enough.

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