BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Fast bowler Chris Jordan got a hat trick and the American cricket team lost five wickets in six balls as England secured its spot in the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday.
Defending champion England crushed the United States by 10 wickets with 62 balls remaining in their last Super Eight game.
Jordan, who replaced pacer Mark Wood, grabbed four wickets off five balls in his last over to dismantle the U.S. for 115 runs in 18.5 overs and become the first Englishman to claim a hat trick in T20 internationals. He finished with 4-10 in 2.5 overs on the Caribbean island of Barbados where he was born.
''Very nice to do this at a special place like this,'' Jordan said.
Captain Jos Buttler then smashed 83 not out off 38 balls, including five sixes in one over against left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh, as England raced to 117-0 in 9.4 overs.
''I thought if we could bring our intensity, we'd be too good,'' Buttler said. England started its innings knowing that it needed to surpass South Africa's net run-rate by chasing the target in 18.4 overs but finished the chase in less than 10 overs.
''We've got great options. We wanted to bring Chris Jordan back, adds a bit of depth with his batting capabilities as well," Buttler said.
England, which also beat West Indies, finished the Super Eights with two big wins and a healthy net run-rate of 1.992. Its massive win over the U.S. means South Africa, which is unbeaten in six games but has a net run-rate of 0.625, must avoid defeat against tournament co-host West Indies in Sunday's other game to qualify with England for the semifinals.