“Let David Warner Open the Bowling” – Scotland Batter Ready to Work With Australia to Manipulate England’s Elimination
Scotland cricket team opener Michael Jones found humor in Josh Hazlewood’s comments suggesting it would be in Australia’s and other teams’ best interests if England were eliminated from the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup. Pat Cummins later dismissed Hazlewood’s remarks as tongue-in-cheek, asserting that Australia would never manipulate a game, as it goes against the spirit of cricket.
The possibility of Australia aiding Scotland by maintaining their superior net run rate (NRR) is now moot, following England’s decisive win over Oman, which boosted their own NRR to 3.081, surpassing Scotland’s 2.164. To progress, England now only need to defeat Namibia in their final Group B match and hope Scotland does not upset Australia in their last match of the Group Stage.
Scotland batter Michael Jones humorously recounted his reaction to Hazlewood’s comments, stating, “I was watching it live actually, laughing to myself,” as quoted by the Press Association. Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine humorously suggested that Australia should “go on holiday,” and Jones echoed this sentiment, saying it would be beneficial for Scotland if Australia took a relaxed approach.
Jones acknowledged the intense rivalry between England and Australia and jokingly suggested that unconventional tactics, such as having David Warner open the bowling, would be amusing and advantageous for Scotland. He added, “If they want to play that way then happy days. We won’t be complaining.”
“If they want to let David Warner open the bowling or something like that it would be pretty funny,” said the Scotland batter.
The Group B of T20 World Cup 2024 is going put up great competition in its last matchday on June 15 and 16. Australia have already qualified from the group while the fight remains between England and Scotland for the 2nd spot in the group.
19:30 IST
