England, the defending champions, have not had the best start to their T20 World Cup campaign. The first match against Scotland was washed off by rain, though the Scottish men put on a stunning 90-run first-wicket stand.
After their initial encounter, England went on to face Australia, who ended their years-long losing streak at the hands of the English. Buttler and co. ended on the wrong side as Scotland passed them in the points table.
There came a time when England had to depend on Australia to seek their chances further in the cup. Australia, who have already qualified for the Super-8 stage, would look to rest many players for the final match against Scotland.
However, it was due to Australian pacer Josh Hazelwood’s comments in the post-match conference, which sparked a rumor about the Australians letting go of Scotland in the vital encounter so that England could not see through to the Super-8s.
Hazlewood said after Australia confirmed their Super Eight spot with a clinical win over Namibia before stressing any tactical decisions were not his to make
“In this tournament, you potentially come up against England at some stage again; they’re probably one of the top few teams on their day, and 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,”
However, it was firmly said by ICC officials that if such a thing happens and it is anticipated by them, then the Australian skipper will face serious consequences for the same.
However, on the contrary, World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins claimed that Team Australia is well aware of the spirit of the game.
“I think when you go out and play, you are trying your best every time, and if you are not, that’s probably against the spirit of cricket. I haven’t really thought too deeply because it’s never really popped up,”Cummins told reporters in St Lucia before the result of the England-Oman match
However, brushing all criticism off, Jos Buttler’s England dominated superiorly and ended the match with 101 balls to spare. With this, they have an advantage over Scotland on run rate, and hence now Scotland has to defeat the mighty Aussies to go past the defending champions for the Super-8 stage.
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