“In our best interest,” Hazlewood reveals Australian team ready to eliminate England by manipulating result vs Scotland
Australia’s fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has suggested a strategic approach for their upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 match against Scotland that could potentially lead to England’s elimination from the tournament.
Australia, the defending champions, need to win their remaining group matches against Oman and Namibia with a higher net run rate than Scotland to advance to the Super 8 stage. However, having already secured their place in the Super 8s with three consecutive wins, Australia could influence the points table by defeating Scotland by a narrow margin. This strategy could ensure Scotland’s net run rate remains above England’s, thereby jeopardizing England’s chances.
England’s final group match against Namibia concludes about four hours before Australia faces Scotland, giving the Australians a clear understanding of the victory margin required to eliminate England.
Speaking after Australia’s dominant nine-wicket win over Namibia in Antigua, Hazlewood admitted that their chances of winning the T20 World Cup would improve if England were out of the competition.
“In this tournament, you potentially come up against England at some stage again, and they’re probably one of the top few teams on their day,” Hazlewood said. “We’ve had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket. So if we can get them out of the tournament, that’s in our best interest as well as probably everyone else.”
He added, “It’ll be interesting to see. We’ve never really been in this position before as a team, I don’t think. Whether we have discussions or not, or we just try and play again the way we played tonight, that’ll be up to people, not me.
Meanwhile, England and Pakistan are hoping for clear weather in their remaining T20 World Cup matches to avoid disruptions that could impact their chances of advancing.
Both teams, who were finalists in the previous edition of the tournament, have had slow starts this year. Pakistan experienced a surprising defeat against the USA in Dallas.
However, the weather forecasts for Antigua and Florida are concerning, as rain could potentially lead to washouts, jeopardizing their progress in the tournament.
