Travis Head’s half-century proved to be decisive in Australia’s win on Sunday. (AP)
Tactics and mind games continue to swirl around the Australian dressing room. Four days ago, pacer Josh Hazlewood cheekily hinted at knocking defending champions England out of the T20 World Cup by taking a slightly casual approach in their final Group B clash against Scotland, who were also vying for a Super 8 berth.
“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,” Hazlewood had remarked after Australia crushed Namibia to seal their progress, leaving England and Scotland to fight for the remaining spot.
Hazlewood’s comments struck a nerve, prompting the English media to raise the potential ramifications if Australia were to slip up against an Associate nation for the first time since the 1983 World Cup. Teammate Pat Cummins stepped up to clear the air ahead of the final group-stage hit in St. Lucia, suggesting net run rate quirks would not prompt a change of approach against Scotland.
But it did for a while, as a determined Scottish side fought toe to toe with Australia with qualification on the line. Top that with six dropped catches, and Mitchell Marsh’s men offered enough fodder for creative minds.
The proceedings may have set a few English hearts jangling, 350 kilometres north in Antigua. After a frustrating rain spell, England had thwarted Namibia earlier on Sunday to do their bit but needed a gentle push from the Aussies to settle a Super 8 spot on NRR.
They weren’t disappointed in the end. Australia scraped through with a five-wicket win after a stiff chase, teasing the English along the way. Hazlewood may have had a chuckle after prompting extra interest in the game after his remark.
The McMullen charge
However, Scotland seemed determined to be the masters of their fate. George Munsey and Brandon McMullen triggered a mesmerising Powerplay charge after Australia opted to field, without Hazlewood and Cummins.
Building on his match-winning half-century against Oman, McMullen raised the bar with a bevy of eye-catching sixes over cover and mid-off. The right-hander straight-drove Nathan Ellis for a maximum before charging Mitchell Starc with a slap over deep cover against the breeze. Munsey fancied his chances against Glenn Maxwell’s off-breaks with a mix of switch-hits and powerful strikes down the ground. McMullen lofted leggie Adam Zampa easily over deep cover for another six.
McMullen hit every Australian bowler for a six through the off-side. (X)
McMullen sped to his fifty in 26 deliveries, not before carting another six over mid-off against left-arm spinner Ashton Agar. The domineering off-side play fetched him 36 runs, a rarity in T20 cricket. McMullen pumped Maxwell over wide mid-off, ensuring that he hit every Australian bowler for six at least once through the region before holing out to short-third off a tossed-up delivery from Zampa. Captain Richie Berrington ensured his side didn’t lose momentum.
Runs were hard to come by in the second half, but Scotland jostled to 180 for five – their highest T20 World Cup total and the highest ever by an Associate nation against Australia in the tournament.
Acing an unexpected test
Even as skipper Marsh mentioned the “little less pressure” on the Aussies after the game, the stiff target may have helped to keep their heads level in time for the Super Eight.
Brad Wheal’s away-swinger extracted a half-hearted poke from David Warner to point in the second over.
But Scotland grassed their next chance inside the Powerplay. Michael Jones could not grasp a swirling high ball running backwards after Travis Head, on 17, miscued a slog over mid-off in the fourth over. As Marsh and Maxwell departed for low scores, Head readjusted his game when Marcus Stoinis took over the aggressor’s role.
The buccaneering no. 5 unfurled a flurry of reverse-sweep boundaries against spinner Michael Leask and sapped the fight out of Scotland with muscular biffs over long-off. Stoinis waltzed to a 25-ball fifty as Head nurdled to his off 45 deliveries.
Head immediately flipped into overdrive with three consecutive sixes off medium-pacer Safyan Sharif, finally allowing England a sigh of relief. There was time for more drama as Head and Stoinis fell towards the end. But Tim David’s long levers sent the dogged Scots packing with two balls to spare, leaving the defending champions ample room to fight the rest of the Caribbean battle on their own.
Brief scores: Scotland 180/5 in 20 overs (Brandon McMullen 60, Richie Berrington 42 not out, George Munsey 35) lost to Australia 186/5 in 19.4 overs (Head 68, Stoinis 59; Mark Watt 2/34) by 5 wickets
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