England struggle as Trescothick fails to pass maths exam

England 272 Namibia 217-9 England win by 55 runs

England will convince themselves that yesterday's victory over the part-timers from Namibia was a satisfactory performance. They have to. Even Canada, after being bowled out for 36, will try and put a positive spin on things. Pakistan, India and Australia, England's next three opponents in Group A, will view it differently, though. England need to beat two of these teams to qualify for the next stage of the World Cup and there was little on show at the St George's Ground to suggest they will.

For a side who would like to be considered as potential champions, this was a disappointing performance. Under the captaincy of Alec Stewart – Nasser Hussain withdrew before play with a stiff neck which could keep him out of Saturday's match against Pakistan – England looked flat. There was little sparkle about their play and nobody took on the responsibility of winning this match against a country with only 20 cricketers of any note to select from.

In fact, there were stages when the minnows from south- east Africa were in danger of causing one of the biggest upsets in the history of cricket. Rain clouds surrounded this attractive ground for most of the day and the odd shower was forecast. This meant that Messrs Duckworth and Lewis, the inventors of a system used for calculating the winners in rain-affected games, were always being referred to.

In reply to England's workmanlike score of 272, Namibia were ahead of the D/L score needed to win the match until the 37th over. Rain at any time between the 25th over – the number of overs required to make the game a game – and this would have virtually booted England out of the World Cup.

England's chances were not helped by those controlling matters in the middle. Stewart chose Marcus Trescothick – who as Hussain's No 2 in Australia was surprisingly overlooked as captain here because of a lack of experience – as the man in charge of supervising the par D/L score. No problem with this until Stewart amazingly informed the media that Trescothick had been telling him England were always just in front during this period.

Such information did not tally to that in the press box, which possessed the same sheet of paper to that in Trescothick's pocket. The D/L system can seem complicated but such an oversight will not enhance the chances of the Somerset opener captaining England.

There are those who say Hussain should stand down as captain after a poor tour of Australia. They should think again. England meander along without their passionate and demanding captain in charge. They need him back at the helm in Cape Town on Saturday.

Indeed, it was left to two Namibian players, Jan-Berry Burger and Rudie Van Vuuren, to brighten up the day's proceedings. Burger, a 21-year-old student at Stellenbosch University, played with greater freedom than any England batsman and had the time of his life. In earlier World Cup matches he had shown his desire to give the ball a thump and against England's indisciplined bowling attack he did just that.

Andrew Caddick, James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff may have felt they could bully the Namibian batsmen in the same way Pakistan had three days earlier, when they bowled them out for 84. However, Burger was having none of it. The powerfully built right-hander was given one chance on 17, when he was dropped by Matthew Hoggard at square leg off the bowling of Caddick. That Hoggard was on the field was due to Ian Blackwell straining his back while batting. With Hussain struggling with a soft tissue injury to his neck and Ashley Giles still suffering from tonsillitis England could have only 12 fit men going into Saturday's game.

Such problems did not concern Burger, who in his run-a-ball innings of 85 tucked into anything short or wide with relish. While he was at the crease the African side still had a chance of producing a shock and it was only a stunning catch by Paul Collingwood in the gully to dismiss Burger that settled English hearts.

England's total was based around half centuries from Trescothick and Stewart but it was Van Vuuren – the first person to play in World Cup final tournaments at two different sports, the other was rugby – who had the most fun. Bowling medium pace, he took 5 for 43, the best figures in a one-day game at this ground, and he hit the last ball of the game for six.

PORT ELIZABETH SCOREBOARD

Namibia won toss

ENGLAND
M E Trescothick c L J Burger b A J Burger 58
N V Knight c L J Burger b van Vuuren 6
M P Vaughan c L J Burger b van Vuuren 14
A J Stewart c B L Kotze b D B Kotze 60
P D Collingwood c Keulder b Snyman 38
A Flintoff c Keulder b Snyman 21
I D Blackwell c van Schoor b Snyman 16
C White c S F Burger b van Vuuren 35
R C Irani c D B Kotze b van Vuuren 12
A R Caddick b van Vuuren 4
J M Anderson not out 0
Extras (lb1, w4, nb3) 8
Total (201 min, 50 overs) 272

Fall: 1-26 (Knight), 2-43 (Vaughan), 3-121 (Trescothick), 4-159 (Stewart), 5-202 (Collingwood), 6-205 (Flintoff), 7-242 (Blackwell), 8-264 (White), 9-268 (Irani), 10-272 (Caddick).

Bowling: Snyman 10-0-69-3 (nb2, w2) (5-0-33-0 3-0-20-2 2-0-16-1); van Vuuren 10-2-43-5 (6-2-10-2 2-0-14-0 2-0-19-3); L J Burger 9-0-45-0 (nb1) (7-0-33-0 2-0-12-0); B L Kotze 3-0-24-0, D B Kotze 10-0-35-1, A J Burger 2-0-23-1 (w2) (one spell each); S F Burger 6-0-32-0 (5-0-27-0 1-0-5-0).

Progress: 50: 54 min, 82 balls. Score after 15 overs: 59-2. 100: 89 min, 132 balls. 150: 118 min, 181 balls. 200: 152 min, 238 balls. 250: 189 min, 289 balls.

Trescothick's 50: 92 min, 63 balls, 6 fours, 1 six. Stewart's 50: 77 min, 68 balls, 5 fours, 1 six.

NAMIBIA
S J Swanepoel c Vaughan b Anderson 8
A J Burger c Collingwood b White 85
L J Burger c and b Flintoff 5
D Keulder run out (Trescothick-Stewart) 46
B G Murgatroyd b Irani 24
G Snyman b White 0
D B Kotze b Flintoff 7
S F Burger c Collingwood b Irani 5
M van Schoor not out 11
B L Kotze lbw b Irani 0
R J van Vuuren not out 12
Extras (lb5, w6, nb3) 14
Total (for 9, 206 min, 50 overs) 217

Fall: 1-12 (Swanepoel), 2-42 (L J Burger), 3-139 (A J Burger), 4-174 (Keulder), 5-174 (Snyman), 6-188 (Murgatroyd), 7-190 (D B Kotze), 8-200 (S F Burger), 9-200 (B L Kotze).

Bowling: Caddick 8-2-28-0 (w2) (one spell); Anderson 8-0-44-1 (w3) (5-0-24-1 2-0-10-0 1-0-10-0); Flintoff 10-2-33-2 (w1) (6-1-26-1 4-1-7-1); White 10-0-46-2 (nb2) (1-0-7-0 9-0-39-2); Vaughan 6-0-31-0 (nb1); Irani 8-0-30-3 (one spell each).

Progress: 50: 59 min, 86 balls. Score after 15 overs: 56-2. 100: 96 min, 137 balls. 150: 132 min, 201 balls. 200: 183 min, 268 balls.

A J Burger's 50: 83 min, 52 balls, 7 fours.

Umpires: S J A Taufel and S Venkataraghavan.

ENGLAND WON BY 55 RUNS

Man of the match: A J Burger