A Scotland spirit solidified by song has carried them to the brink of their finest World Cup moment, but the underdogs know their blazing top-order must fire if they stand a chance of beating an Australian side boasting “the best all-round attack in the world”.
A decade after Michael Leask sung ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ in front of teammates on a tour to South Africa as part of a long-running team ritual, the Scotland allrounder believes his side can soar when they meet Group B’s other undefeated team in St Lucia on Saturday (10.30am Sunday AEST).
Scotland have a heartwarming tradition that compels every new squad member to break out in song in front of the entire team on their first tour.
Patrons of a popular Gros Islet beachside seafood restaurant discovered that ritual extends to support staff as well when the team’s media manager sung a touching rendition of popular Scottish ballad ‘Caledonia’ at a birthday dinner for reserve wicketkeeper, Charlie Tear.
“Whenever you pull on the badge – you don’t get to do it too often as an Associate cricketer – it’s extra special,” Leask told reporters at an impassioned press conference in a makeshift tent out of the back of the Daren Sammy Stadium.
“We have a tradition as a team where someone sings a song if it’s your first tour – it doesn’t matter if you’re the media manager. The media manager got up there the other night and sung beautifully in the restaurant.
“It’s something that holds this group in good stead because it brings a smile to people’s faces. It’s a little bit of fun, it brings a bit of light-heartedness to the tour which (is important when) you do you miss your families.”
But if any of the Scotland players felt a sudden longing for their homeland by the flawlessly-performed lyrics (“Caledonia, you’re calling me, and now I’m going home”) as they stared past the open-air restaurant’s Vetiver grass-thatched roof into Rodney Bay, Leask was not among them.
The Aberdonian right-hander is the latest member of Scotland’s dangerous batting line-up to fire at this World Cup, slamming four sixes against Namibia to help ice their chase of 156 in a match-winning 74-run partnership with dependable captain, Richard Berrington.
It continues an impressive run from the 12th-ranked team’s batters that begun with George Munsey and Michael Jones peppering the rooftop solar panels of Barbados’ Greenidge and Haynes Stand in a rapid 90-run first-wicket stand in their washed-out tournament opener against defending champions England.
Munsey and their rising South Africa-born allrounder Brandon McMullen then made light work of Oman in Antigua, chasing down their 7-150 with 6.5 overs to spare in a net run-rate boosting victory.
Yet, even despite expectations the St Lucia pitch will be more conducive to run scoring than the surfaces Group B have played on so far, Leask suggested Australia’s attack will provide their greatest challenge of the tournament so far.
“Our batters are probably going to have to step up, knowing we’re facing the best in the world,” said Leask ahead of the two teams’ first ever meeting in a T20 International, the first of four they will play this year following confirmation of a bilateral series to be played in Edinburgh in September.
“Probably the best all-round bowling attack in the world. (Adam) Zampa’s in top form, so are the seamers.
“So I think it’s going to be two or three batters in that batting innings that are really going to have to put Australia under the pump with the ball. We know that it’s capable of happening and that’s possible.
“They are the best in the world for a reason as a collective unit, we’re going to have to put them under pressure somehow.
“We’re going to need two or three guys to really put on a show, and basically take them on headfirst.”
Earlier in the week it had appeared as though Scotland may be able to sneak through to the Super Eight if they simply avoided being thrashed by Australia, who have already qualified.
But England’s torching of Oman by an even greater margin than Scotland’s over the Asian nation (Jos Buttler’s side needed only 19 balls to chase their target of 48) has left Berrington’s men almost certainly needing an outright win to make it through.
“It’s a must-win game, always has been,” said Leask. “We expected England to play well in the group and that’s exactly what happened.”
Scotland have never come close to beating the Aussies in any of their previous meetings, with the victory margins of their contests (all 50-over games) dating back to the 1999 World Cup being six wickets, 203 runs, 189 runs, 200 runs and seven wickets.
But since upstaging England with a stunning six-run win in an ODI at the Grange only 12 months before Eoin Morgan’s side pulled off their landmark 2019 World Cup win, Scotland have increasingly made trouble for more fancied opponents.
A heartbreakingly close net run-rate margin of 0.058 was the difference between the Netherlands and their European counterparts for the final spot at last year’s 10-team ODI World Cup, after the Scots had pulled off wins over both West Indies and Zimbabwe in an impressive qualifying campaign.
Leask, a self-proclaimed cricket “badger” who professed his admiration for fellow off-spinning allrounder Glenn Maxwell, was in the XIs for all three of those upset wins and sees no reason they could not pull off another surprise to progress past the initial group stage of a World Cup for the first time.
“Look, we haven’t played Australia in a T20 international … it does put us in a good stead because they don’t know what we’re capable of,” said the 33-year-old.
“It’d be an incredibly proud moment for Scottish cricket if we did progress to the Super Eights.
“Let’s not beat around the bush, it would be the tough way. We’re going to have to beat Australia tomorrow. I think that would make it extra special for us, knowing that we’ve played an incredibly good game of cricket, taken on the best in the world, beaten the best in the world to progress.
“I think we know we’re going to have to do that. So that started three or four days ago that the prep for that happened, mentally and physically. We’re going to have to bring our A game and take them on.”
2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Australia’s squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Australia’s Group B fixtures
June 6: Beat Oman by 39 runs
June 9: Beat England by 36 runs
June 12: Beat Namibia by nine wickets
June 16: v Scotland, Daren Sammy Stadium, St Lucia, 10.30am AEST
Super Eight fixtures opponents to be confirmed
21 June: v D2, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, 10.30am AEST
23 June: v Afghanistan, Arnos Vale Ground, St Vincent, 10.30am AEST
25 June: v India, Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, St Lucia, 12.30am AEST
Semi-finals to follow if Australia qualify
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