The State of Play
England open the defence of their T20 World Cup crown against Scotland in Bridgetown tomorrow not only hoping to retain the trophy but also banish the memory of their woeful ODI World Cup campaign last year.
Jos Buttler’s men finished seventh in India after a series of below-par performances with Yorkshire batter Harry Brook claiming the team was “not in a great space”.
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He told The Guardian: “[We need to] be a bit more relaxed; probably stay in the moment a little bit more, as a group and personally. We weren’t in a great space at the time. The way we started wasn’t great, either. It wasn’t the best competition to be part of.”
Brook is optimistic things will be better in the T20 version with England placed in Group B alongside the Scots, Australia, Namibia and Oman.
He added: “We fancy our chances. We’ve got a very good side; good depth around T20 cricket. We’re confident we can bring it home again.”
England go into the tournament looking a little undercooked after their four-match home series against Pakistan – which ended in a 2-0 win – was affected by rain.
There is the fear similar weather could hamper them tomorrow with showers expected.
Brook added: “Every game is important in a World Cup.
“We’ve just got to hope and pray the weather does stay away and we can get a game in.”
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England could rest Mark Wood in favour of Reece Topley but unleash fellow paceman Jofra Archer on his home island of Barbados.
Scotland lost their final warm-up game against Afghanistan but, speaking before that encounter, coach Doug Watson was in bullish mood.
He told BBC Sport: “We’re coming off the back of [last summer’s ODI World Cup] a qualifying campaign where we got past West Indies and Zimbabwe and that’s put us in a position where we’re pretty confident and looking forward to the opportunity of facing these guys.
“Every tournament we play, we want to win every game. But we just need to dial it back and make sure we are focusing on every moment of every game and not looking too far ahead. We also need to make sure we enjoy every moment.”
Scotland are huge underdogs but can boast a win from their last meeting with England, when they won a one-off ODI in Edinburgh in 2018.
The boys in Barbados 😍 pic.twitter.com/pJivBkLYD4
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 1, 2024
Expected line-ups
England: Salt, Buttler (c, wk), Jacks, Bairstow, Brook, Ali, Livingstone, Rashid, Archer, Jordan, Topley
Scotland: Munsey, Hairs, Jones, Berrington (c), Cross (wk), Leask, Greaves, Watt, Sole, Sharif, Currie
How to watch
Sky have the rights to show the T20 World Cup to UK viewers in 2024 and will broadcast every game live. Coverage gets underway on Sky Sports Cricket from 3pm BST.
In India, the games can be streamed on Disney + Hotstar app and website. They are also available across the Star Sports Network.
Need a note to get out of work tomorrow afternoon? @Berrington44 has you covered 🫡#FollowScotland | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/fWjZcaEmQ5
— Cricket Scotland (@CricketScotland) June 3, 2024
Prediction
England will surely be better than they were in India. They possess a batting line-up with enormous power and big-hitting ability and will expect to get off to a winning start here ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash with Australia.
Having finally proved his fitness after so many injury problems, Archer will be eager to impress and that could spell bad news for the Scots.
