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Pat Cummins clarified that Australia never intended to take it easy on Scotland in their final group match to knock out England from the Twenty20 World Cup. He explained that comments made by Josh Hazlewood, suggesting they might slow down the run rate, were made in a lighthearted manner.
Australia had already secured one of the two slots in the Super Eight stage from Group B, while Scotland seemed likely to claim the other spot due to their superior net run-rate.
However, things changed on Thursday when England staged a remarkable comeback. By dismissing Oman for just 47 runs and chasing down the target in only 19 balls, Jos Buttler’s team significantly boosted their net run-rate, surpassing Scotland’s.
Now, England is expected to defeat Namibia in their final match, which would tie them on points with Scotland. Earlier in the week, Hazlewood had mentioned that Australia wouldn’t mind eliminating England in the group stage to avoid facing them later in the tournament.
“I was speaking to Joshy, who had a bit of a joke about it the other day, and think it got taken a little bit out of context,” Cummins said of Hazlewood’s comments.
“We’ll go there and just try and play Scotland, who have had a really good tournament so far and will be tough.
“It’s something you kind of discuss as one of the quirks of the set-up but in terms of does it change the way we play? Absolutely not.
“I’ve never stepped into the field without the mindset of trying to take the game on and be aggressive, like the guys have so far.”
On Saturday, Australia will face Scotland at Gros Islet in Saint Lucia.
