Australia registered a five-wicket win over Scotland in their final group game of the ongoing T20 World Cup, thus assuring England’s qualification to the Super Eight. The English team, which defeated Namibia in a rain-delayed match earlier on Saturday, relied on Australia’s win against Scotland to ensure their progress to the next round. While the Aussies did endure a poor outing on the field – they dropped multiple catches and conceded 180/5 in 20 overs – Travis Head (68) and Marcus Stoinis (59) produced brilliant knocks to see Australia through in the game.
The match between Australia and Scotland preceded some controversy, with the former’s leading pacer, Josh Hazlewood, inciting debate on social media platforms by suggesting that Australia wouldn’t mind hampering England’s chances for progression in the tournament. The argument triggered varied responses, with fellow pace-bowling colleague Pat Cummins rubbishing the idea, too.
Following Australia’s win, Mitchell Starc seemed to put a full stop to the saga, insisting that one doesn’t “stuff around with Mother Cricket.”
“You don’t stuff around with Mother Cricket and try to worry about other results,” Starc said.
“We’re here to win games. England are now on the other side of the draw, so it really doesn’t make that much difference for the next three games. That was blown right out of proportion.”
Starc on Australia’s poor fielding
Starc had a rare wicketless outing, largely due to the side’s dropped catches. Adam Zampa missed a chance on the boundary, followed by dropped opportunities from Mitchell Marsh and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade off Glenn Maxwell’s bowling.
Six catches were dropped in total, marking a stark contrast to their previously sharp performances that secured their qualification for the Super Eight stage. When asked if there were excuses for the side’s poor fielding efforts, Starc insisted that the side was “just terrible.”
“No, we were just terrible. We were certainly off the mark in the field with dropped catches and probably some other areas that were a bit sloppy as well. [It’s] good to get that stuff out of the way, and now we’re into the pointy end,” said the pacer.