On Saturday, June 15, Australia had a tough time in the field in their final Group B match in the T20 World Cup 2024 against Scotland, dropping six catches in total after Josh Hazlewood’s comment about knocking England out of the tournament. But, despite the fielding lapses, Australia managed to secure a five-wicket win over Scotland at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.
In the build-up to their final Group B match against Scotland, the Australian fast bowler, Josh Hazlewood spoke about how it’s in their best interest to watch England exit the T20 World Cup 2024 early. Following that, England went on to win their final two matches in the group against Oman and Namibia in a comprehensive manner, needing the old enemy Australia to do them a favour by defeating Scotland, to help them reach the Super 8 stage of the tournament.
After Australia sent Scotland in to bat first, their sloppiness in the field was quite evident, dropping a lot of catches throughout their bowling innings. Travis Head gave life to Brandon McMullen on 16 before he went on to make them pay with a 34-ball 60, which included two fours and six maximums.
The captain Richie Berrington and George Munsey also made significant contributions with the bat, helping propel the Scottish total to 180/5 in their allotted overs.
In the run chase, Australia lost the wickets of David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, and Glenn Maxwell early in their innings, followed by an 80-run stand for the fourth wicket between Travis Head and Marcus Stoinis, both completing their fifties in the process. After that, Tim David and Matthew Wade were quite cool in the pressure situation, ensuring that Australia went on to defeat Scotland with two balls remaining.
Australia finished the group stage with four wins in four matches, reaching the Super 8 stage alongside their old enemy England. The defending champions pipped Scotland to get to second place in Group B on the basis of their better NRR.