All you need to know about Super 8 stage as England look to retain T20 crown

England are still in the hat at the T20 World Cup after squeezing past neighbours Scotland in the first round.

Here, the PA news agency tells you everything you need to know abut the ‘Super 8’ stage.

How did England qualify?

A washout against Scotland and a heavy loss to Australia left the defending champions in a tricky spot after two games but they made it through on a net run-rate calculation after tying with their fellow Britons on five points. Dominant displays over Oman and Namibia effectively got them over the line, but an early exit came perilously close when Scotland almost turned over Australia.

Why did they go through as a top seed after finishing second?

The International Cricket Council pre-determined some of the seedings before the tournament, based on world rankings. As such England were guaranteed to progress as team ‘B1’ regardless of whether they finished first or second, while Australia take the ‘B2’ designation despite topping the table. With games held in various islands in the Caribbean and a compressed schedule, organisers decided offering some clarity on potential fixtures was necessary to attract overseas fans.

Which of the eight teams will England face?

With the remaining sides split into two pools, England will begin their Super 8 campaign against co-hosts the West Indies in St Lucia on Wednesday night (0130 Thurs BST), before taking on South Africa two days later at the same venue. They wrap up against surprise qualifiers the United States in Barbados on Sunday.

Group 1 includes India, Australia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

How do they reach the semi-finals?

The first thing to note is that the slate is wiped clean after the first round, with no points or net run-rates carried forward. The two teams with most points go through to the last four, with several tie-breakers in the event of sides finishing level. Most wins comes first, followed by net run-rate. If that does not separate them, the winner of the head-to-head between two teams takes precedence. The final differential is the world ranking on May 31. That would be good for England, who were ahead of all three opponents at that point but have since slipped behind the West Indies.

Where next?

A semi-final against one of the sides from the counterpart pool awaits, with games in Guyana and Trinidad. But the presence of India in that slate complicates matters. The importance of the Indian broadcast market means they have been given an added layer of certainty about their schedule and will contest the second semi in Guyana on June 27 regardless of where they finish. That means if England match India’s position, they will avoid them and play in Trinidad a day earlier. If England finish second and India first (or vice versa) they will play each other in the Guyana game. The final is back in Barbados on June 29.