Who said what - top 3 reactions to Australia helping England reach Super Eights in 2024 T20 World Cup ft. Aaron Finch
Scotland came up with a spirited effort against Australia in Match 35 of the 2024 T20 World Cup on Sunday, June 16. In a close contest, the Men in Yellow held their nerves to seal the game with two balls to spare, which also allowed England to reach the Super Eight due to a better net run-rate than Scotland.
In the absence of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, the Australian outfit conceded 180 while dropping six catches. Brandon McMullen (60) was the top-scorer for Scotland. In response, Australia lost three wickets in the first 10 overs, but influential knocks from Travis Head (68) and Marcus Stoinis (59) and a good finish from Tim David (24*) helped the Aussies to clinch a thriller.
On that note, let's take a look at the top three reactions by the cricket fraternity on the crucial game.
#1 Aaron Finch slams people for "rubbish talks" about Australia intentionally trying to eliminate England
Aaron Finch spoke on the constant rumbling of Australia intentionally trying to lose the game against Scotland to deny England the chance to qualify for the Super Eight. Here's what the former Aussie skipper said on Australia managing just 74/3 after the halfway mark, in pursuit of 181.
During an interaction with ESPNcricinfo, Finch said:
"I think it's a disrespect for Australia and Scotland both. It wasn't an absolute belter of a wicket, that you can just walk out and hit your shots. I mean Travis Head can smack them the best most of the times, but fact that he couldn't get them away and Australia losing three wickets inside 10 overs. Australia couldn't afford to go all guns blazing, so it's a rubbish talk."
Meanwhile, Finch lauded the clutch performance of Marcus Stoinis, which came in handy to win the game for the Men in Yellow, Furthermore, Finch also criticized the Australian players for sloppy fielding and found that few of the chances were easy.
#2 "Scotland had the opportunity to upset Australia" - Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer pointed out on Star Sports that both teams had a pretty ordinary day in the fielding department. He thought that the missed chances of Travis Head and Tim David cost Scotland as they were very close to beating Australia and reaching the Super Eight. He said:
"Australia first of all dropping as many as five-six catches. Mitchell Marsh dropping two, then McMullen was dropped by Travis Head. Adam Zampa dropped one at the fine leg. The game that cost Scotland was the important one, head getting dropped by Michael Jones, pretty ordinary day in the field.
"Tim David hit a skier and again we saw a dropped catch. They have themselves to blame, as they had the opportunity to upset Australia but not to be."
#3 "Unluckiest team in T20 World Cup 2024 is Scotland" - Brad Hogg
Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg took to X to share his comments on the teams reaching the Super Eight. The 53-year-old felt that Scotland were the unluckiest team in the T20 World Cup as they performed well against Australia, and had an impressive outing against England.
Interestingly, Scotland were at 90/0 after the end of 10 overs in Barbados on a difficult pitch against England and had a strong chance to beat the Jos Buttler-led side before a washout. Here's what Hogg said:
"The unluckiest team in the tournament is Scotland. They performed admirably against Australia taking them down to the wire. They were playing England earlier in the tournament in Barbados. They were none for 90 in 10 overs and on that wicket where it was a little bit of turn, it was low, there was a bit of inconsistency there. They had a huge opportunity to beat England then, and if they did, they would have been going through to the Super 8s."