England’s T20 World Cup predicament goes far beyond their own failings
On Sunday, at the Bridgetown airport bar, they were airing the India vs Pakistan match, which was great to see as the World Cup is highly visible in the Caribbean. While English fans were enjoying the nerve-racking match with a cold bottle of Banks before catching their flight to Antigua, the Scottish team had already arrived in the sunny region. They were eagerly anticipating a week at their last hope to defeat their historic rival.
The day after England lost to Australia in Kensington Oval, and at the same time as Pakistan's poor performance in New York, Scotland's team, led by Richie Berrington, won by seven wickets against Oman at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. This victory places them close to entering the Super Eight phase of the tournament. They were able to surpass a goal of 151 with 41 balls left, increasing their net run-rate significantly. It's safe to say that they performed admirably.
Scotland is leading Group B with five points and good net run-rate of +2.16. They only have one match left against Australia in St Lucia on Saturday night. However, Jos Buttler's team, who got only one point because of the rain in their first match last week, need to win both games against Oman and Namibia to reach the same number of points as Scotland and significantly improve their net run-rate of -1.8. Owing to this, they are hoping for Australia to win against Scotland by enough margin to drop them to third place.
In this situation, England has more troubles than just their own mistakes. Scotland is determined to win and make all their past errors irrelevant. Besides, Scotland knows how much they can afford to lose depending on how the game develops. On the other hand, Australia is expected to beat Namibia on Tuesday and earn their spot in the Super Eight with an extra game in hand. This may result in them not feeling any pressure to finish quickly. Although the Australia coach, Andrew McDonald, doesn't want to get too far ahead before winning this game, he has also acknowledged the possibility of squad players getting a chance to play if they qualify.
This does not imply that Australia would intentionally throw the game - they do not accept losses against lower-ranked teams in the World Cup. However, since the Net Run Rate (NRR) is not carried over to the Super Eights and the seeding determines their group, regardless of their final position, winning this game would be inconsequential for them. Nonetheless, winning in a manner that eliminates their arch-rivals and prevents a potential rematch in the knockout stage could be tempting, even if it is only subconscious. This is similar to the local rum punch, which is pleasing to the senses.
On Monday, McDonald stated that the Australian team is not concerned with England's performance when asked whether they would think about it during the Scotland match. He emphasized that their focus is on their own game and what is significant for them during those matches. Currently, they cannot afford to discuss that matter.
The upcoming games for England are going to require a lot of effort and focus. We experienced a similar situation during the last T20 World Cup when we had to work on our net run-rate. Unfortunately, we missed out on the semi-finals and it's not an ideal situation to be dependent on other team's results. However, it's their responsibility to figure it out and work towards their goal.
In 1999, a situation similar to the one described previously occurred during the 50-over World Cup. The Australian team, led by Steve Waugh, deliberately slowed down their chase of 111 runs against the West Indies, prompting the crowd at Old Trafford to jeer them. The motive for this tactic was to harm New Zealand's chances of advancing to the Super Six stage. At the time, results between teams in the group stage carried over, meaning that, since Australia had already lost to New Zealand, it made more sense for them to help boost West Indies' net run rate while also defeating them.
After the cricket match, Waugh argued that even though it may not have been morally right, it was within the guidelines. This is a recurring issue in the history of cricket, where people debate whether it is more important to follow the exact wording of the rules or to follow the underlying principles of the game, known as the "Spirit of Cricket". Nowadays, with social media, this debate is amplified, and sometimes it can be overwhelming. Matthew Engel expressed his disappointment with that particular cricket match, calling it "dreadful and shameful". He compared it to football, which had already learned that it was better to have all teams play their final World Cup group matches at the same time.
The action taken by Waugh, whether it was allowed by the rules or not, can be viewed as either fair or impolite. However, Stephen Fleming from New Zealand expressed that he would have done the same thing. Nevertheless, this tactic did not have the intended outcome. The result was that New Zealand easily defeated Scotland, who scored a mere 121 in Edinburgh the following day. This victory gave them a chance to surpass the West Indies on Net Run Rate. New Zealand reached their goal with approximately 21 balls remaining in the game.
Going back to the present, there are many things that still need to happen before this scenario becomes a reality. England has struggled in their tournament so far, especially against weaker teams, unlike Australia. As a result, fans who had booked flights for the Super Eight may need to change their plans and support the team from Scotland instead.
