Image source, Getty Images
- author, Sam Drury
- role, BBC Sports Reporter
Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has admitted it is in Australia’s “best interests” for England to be eliminated from the group stage of the T20 World Cup.
Australia booked their place in the Super Eight with a convincing nine-wicket victory over Namibia, setting up a battle between England and Scotland for second place.
Jos Buttler’s side need wins against Oman and Namibia to progress to the knockout stages, but even if they do, net points percentage could decide which team progresses.
If that happens, Australia, who play Scotland on Sunday, could play a key role in deciding which teams advance from Group B.
A win for Scotland would see them through to the knockout stages and eliminate England, but Richie Berrington’s side currently boast a much better net run-rate than England and even a narrow victory for Australia could be enough to topple the defending champions.
Asked if Australia would try to make it as difficult as possible for England, Hazlewood replied: “Yes, they will.”
“We may face England again at some point in this competition and they are probably one of the top few teams on a good day.
“We’ve really struggled against them in T20 cricket so if we can knock them out of the tournament it will be in our best interest and probably everyone else’s too.”
Australia have won all three matches in the tournament so far, including a 36-run victory over England, and needed just 34 balls to stop Namibia being run out for 72 on Tuesday.
But if there is a chance of eliminating England early, there may be no need to rush against Scotland.
“I’m not actually sure if we’re just going to go in and smack it and drag it out,” Hazlewood said of Australia trying to thwart England.
“I have a few options, but I think winning and getting the confidence from winning well is more important than potentially trying to knock someone out.”
“They still have a lot of work to do, so I think it’ll become more clear as we get closer to those things.”
With qualification secured and a busier schedule ahead of them in the run up to the Super 8s, Australia may choose to rest players for the match against Scotland.
“That’s up to the coaches, captains and selectors,” Hazlewood added.
“The players are playing in the IPL. [Indian Premier League]So, one or two of them might be absent, but it wasn’t a very demanding schedule.
“In T20 cricket, one match every three or four days is not that tough.
“We still have one game left but the Super 8 is pretty tough so I think we can take it a bit easier and freshen up over the next few days.”