Brad Wheal optimistic as Scotland prepares to challenge England in T20 World Cup | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Brad Wheal is optimistic that Scotland‘s historic one-day international win over England six years ago will boost their morale when they face England in their T20 World Cup opener in Barbados. The Scots are aiming for another upset against the T20 world champions on June 4, marking the teams’ first meeting in this format.
While England are expected to start their title defense with a win, Scotland’s victory over them in a 50-overs match in Edinburgh in 2018, where they triumphed by six runs in a high-scoring game, serves as a reminder of their potential.Wheal, who missed that match due to a stress fracture in his back, is confident his team will not be intimidated by the occasion. Several players from both sides involved in the 2018 match will also feature at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.

“If anything that just proves to the guys that played in that game, and the ones that didn’t, that going into this fixture, we’re no laughing matter,” the 27-year-old Hampshire seamer told Britain’s PA news agency. “We can definitely go in there and hopefully turn over one of the best T20 teams in the world.”
Wheal acknowledges the challenge ahead but believes Scotland’s past victory brings confidence. “The expectation is definitely there, it’s obviously not going to be a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination. But it definitely brings some confidence in knowing that Scotland have beaten England before, obviously not in a T20. But beating them at a World Cup would be pretty special.”
Wheal, who was born in South Africa, is also encouraged by Scotland’s wins against Test nations Bangladesh and the West Indies in the last two T20 World Cups. “Everyone knows what we can do, the team is good enough and we’ve shown that in the past, beating some big teams,” he said. “Guys will definitely draw from those memories but there’s an expectation now that we are meant to compete with these guys and they won’t be walkover games by any stretch of the imagination, — they’re definitely fixtures that we expect to be competing and potentially winning.”
(Inputs from AFP)