T20 World Cup 2024 – Australia may rest players against Scotland in Group B decider

Australia have the chance to engineer England’s fall from the 2024 T20 World Cup and could jeopardize their rivals’ chances of qualifying for the Super Eights by resting players in their final group stage match against Scotland.

Andrew McDonald, their coach, emphasized several times on Monday that his players are focused on their game against Namibia in Antigua on Tuesday night. If they win, Australia will enter the Super Eights with a game to spare. With a pre-determined place in Group 1 of the Super Eights, they will go into Saturday’s game against Scotland with no pressure on the result.

“[Against] Namibia, we need to win to make sure we go through,” McDonald said of the chance to rest the players against Scotland. “And after that, once we’ve strengthened that qualification, we can start looking at what we feel is necessary… we know if we win this one, then we get the ‘Q’ next to our name.”

Scotland have the added advantage of playing the final group game, putting them on the right side of the information gap with England. In theory, they could find themselves in a position where Australia have put them, for example, to win – but both teams will know that Scotland may need 150 points to keep their NRR above England and thus qualify for the Super Eights.

“We are not really focused on England and where they are,” said McDonald. “We have played them, we have passed them and we will do what is important to us against them [remaining] games… It is clear that England have their work cut out for them in the next few games.

“We were in the same situation in the last T20 World Cup [in 2022] where we had to chase the net run-rate. It’s always difficult, you’re always dependent on other results and it’s not a nice situation to be in. But that works for them, not us.”

McDonald said he believes NRR is the best way to cut ties: “I don’t think there’s any other way to do it really. It creates interest.” But he expressed frustration that Australia’s record will be erased in the second division of the league, and that the victory in Group B will not affect being the second group. [B2] heading to the Super Eights.

“The only thing is you don’t carry over your NRR to the Super Eights, which is a bit interesting. The whole tournament starts again. I would have liked to see the benefit of the first rounds, and what it was. so it doesn’t change what happened in the Super Eights for us.

Asked if cricket could consider a similar system, McDonald compared it to Australian Rules Football: “You’d have to have a changing system, wouldn’t you, to find out what’s going to happen and what’s going to happen? I know some sports are doing that now: they don’t close their final rounds until they see the first half of the season.

“That’s probably an AFL lens on that. But I think sometimes you benefit from that position, and sometimes you don’t. So, whatever happens, there might be a way for teams to find out whether I go through the Super Eights or not.”

Australia could play five games in 10 days if they reach the final in Barbados on June 29, and McDonald said their management was aware of the workload for many players ahead of Tuesday’s game. “We’ve got a short transition from the England game to this one. There’s travel involved… we believe that whatever XI we put out there, it’s going to be very strong.

“Obviously there is a big challenge there for the teams to advance to the Super Eights: game, trip, game, trip, game. It will be difficult in the way you manage your resources and make sure they are ready to make short changes. There may not be a locked team at that time for the teams but the hypotheticals: we have Namibia in front of us.