Trust England to spoil the fun.
For a brief but entertaining few days it had looked like the stars were going to align to allow Australia and Scotland to come together and knock the holders out of the T20 World Cup.
With Scotland enjoying a better net run rate than England at that point, if the Aussies eased off on the gas and made their final game against Doug Watson’s side – scheduled for 1.30am Saturday night/Sunday morning our time – a tight affair, then there was every chance the Scots could pip their neighbours to a place in the Super 8s via cricket’s equivalent of goal difference.
Rather than being horrified at anyone even suggesting such a thing, Australia leaned right into it, with Josh Hazelwood admitting it would be in their “best interests” to see England head home early.
Anyone who remembers last summer’s Ashes series and all the English spluttering about “the spirit of the game” after Alex Carey’s stumping of Johnny Bairstow would not have been surprised to see the reaction to this suggestion, prompting talk of the Australia captain Mitch Marsh being handed a ban should there be even a whiff of jiggery-pokery.
Most of that is now irrelevant, however. Facing up to their potential exit from the tournament, England produced a stunning display to crush Oman on Thursday, bowling their rivals out for just 47 and then chasing down that meagre target in just 3.1 overs.
The clinical nature of that victory had wider ramifications, too. With England’s net run rate now better than Scotland’s, should Jos Buttler’s side defeat Namibia in the earlier game on Saturday, Scotland would then need to beat Australia to qualify.
And with the eyes of the world watching the Aussies following their comments earlier in the week, there is next to no chance of them putting in a below-par performance given the threat of sporting sanctions.
Scotland, then, are likely going to have to beat them fair and square if they are to extend their involvement in this World Cup. The countries have never met before in this format but the Scots can take heart from how they have performed in their previous three group games, including a strong batting performance against England before the weather made a result impossible.
“We like to rise to these occasions,” said fast bowler Chris Sole. “It is all about executing your skills. It comes down to the nuts and bolts of it. You don’t play the shirt, you play the ball in front of you. If we focus on that we will put ourselves in a good position, especially by the way we have been playing.
“We play every game to win. Let’s put in our best performance and we will do our due diligence in terms of what sort of line-up we will be playing against so we know how to counteract their skills set. The preparations don’t change or our mindset.”
Sole admitted a wry smile had crossed his face when he read Hazelwood’s comments but felt that trying to manipulate the outcome of a game would be a lot harder than people might think.
“I quite liked them!” he added of the banter. “I like it when there is a bit of honesty in there. It’s quite funny. I like seeing the niggle between the Aussies and the English.
“There has certainly been some good history in the last few years, in the last Ashes series. So much of it has been documented so well on The Test series on Amazon.
“It gives you a better understanding to the rivalry there. It is quite funny to see that comment come out. I don’t know if the Amazon cameras were there or not [when Hazelwood made his comments] so we will see if they have picked it up or not. But Mother Cricket would come back and sting you if you [tried to force the outcome]. You just play the game.”
Sole knows all about cricket in St Lucia having played there last summer in the Caribbean Premier League. And he believes the travelling Scotland fans will enjoy it regardless of the outcome.
“The main thing is that they love a party in the stands here,” he added. “The atmosphere is incredible. There is a DJ playing in the stand, not a seat spare to be had. I kind of forgot I was playing a game of cricket at one point. I turned around and there were fire breathers behind me.
“We have had our own William Wallace in the stands so far who has been fully kilted up and has the big bushy beard as well. We have been given the nod he is coming to St Lucia and he is good for us.
“You can hear him roaring us on from any boundary, like our travelling mascot. Hopefully there will be a few locals partying along for us as well and a lot of people have said they are coming to watch us play.”
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