England and Scotland’s sporting rivalry famously began at the Kennington Oval way back in 1870, with a series of unofficial football contests that gave rise – one year later – to the world’s first rugby international, at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh, and then to the first (Association) football international, at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow in 1872.
And yet, it’s taken a wee while longer for that neighbourly dispute to come to fruition in the third of Great Britain’s Big Three team sports. England and Scotland did not get round to an official ODI until 2008 (fittingly, the contest was a dank washout), and now it has required a trek across the Atlantic – to the Kensington Oval in Barbados, no less – for the two teams to be unleashed in the sport’s most zeitgeisty format.
Far from being trendsetters on the cricket front, England and Scotland’s meeting in the group stages of the T20 World Cup 2024 will be the 2637th in the format’s history, and just their sixth in total, after five previous ODIs up to and including a particularly notable result six years ago (more of which later). USA and Canada, by contrast, who renewed their own 180-year rivalry in the tournament opener in Dallas at the weekend, have faced each other the same number of times in 2024 alone.
On paper, it’s an unequal contest. For the second time in the space of eight months, England are defending a global title, but unlike the confused ciphers who endured a six-week humiliation at the ODI World Cup in October and November, Jos Buttler’s T20 outfit looks fit and firing despite a frustrating experience during their warm-up series against Pakistan.
Buttler himself is back to his forceful best, having decluttered his game at the IPL with some help from the Rajasthan Royals batting coach, and found in Phil Salt the perfect foil at the top of the order, with his Jason Roy-like ability to go hard from the very first ball. Jofra Archer’s successful return from injury gives depth and edge to an impressively multi-faceted attack, featuring three contrasting spinners and the left-arm angles of Reece Topley. Forewarned ought to be forearmed when it comes to this latest title defence. The fact that it can scarcely go worse than the ODI version ought to be a liberating factor.
And yet… as England’s muddied oafs of yesteryear know all too well from a history of intermittent but wildly acclaimed setbacks, there’s no situation that leans more perfectly into Scotland’s self-image as the aggrieved underdog than a self-confident England strutting inevitably towards another glory.
This trait was even witnessed in their most recent cricketing clash in June 2018 – at the very moment that England were arguably at their absolute zenith as a 50-over force. History tends to relate how Eoin Morgan’s men went a full nine ODI series without defeat en route to lifting the 2019 title. That tidy stat overlooks one colossal one-off at the Grange, however, where Calum MacLeod’s superb 140 not out from 94 balls hoisted Scotland to a hefty 371 for 5 in their only encounter of the year – a target that proved thrillingly out of reach in scenes reminiscent of the climax of Terminator 2.
Seven of the Scotland players remain in the squad this time around, though sadly not MacLeod, who retired abruptly after the last T20 World Cup in 2022. But in his absence, they romped into the 2024 event with six wins out of six in the regional qualifiers in Edinburgh, including a table-topping clincher against Ireland in their final game. And, as if they needed any extra incentive against Proud Joseph’s Army, a glance at England’s T20 World Cup record against European nations makes for some very inspirational reading.
Form guide
England WWLWW (Last five completed matches; most recent first) ScotlandLWLWW
In the spotlight: Archer and Watt
Jofra Archer recently told the BBC that he wouldn’t swap his World Cup winner’s medal for the chance to enjoy an injury-free career, although there must have been moments in the past four years when he wondered if the struggle was worth it. In this coming month, however, he has a shot at catharsis. Archer has never yet played an international on his home island of Barbados. On Tuesday, he will do so in front of his friends and family, so many of whom have been instrumental in his long and lonely hours of rehab. And with a few weeks of good form and fortune on his side, he even allow himself to imagine the feeling of walking out at the same venue in another World Cup final. There’s plenty that needs to unfold between now and then, of course, but all journeys have to start somewhere, and some are significantly longer than others.
It was one of the spells of the 2022 T20 World Cup. Defending 161 in Scotland’s opening fixture against West Indies, Mark Watt conceded just a solitary run at the top of the powerplay, and just 12 in total from four strangulating overs of left-arm spin. His only boundary was conceded off a thick outside-edge, while his three wickets came in each of his final three overs, during which he was seen brandishing his infamous “cheat-sheet” – a crumpled piece of A5 paper with cunning plans laid out for each of the men in his sights. England know from recent experience how tricky left-arm spin can be on Caribbean surfaces, after the success of Gudakesh Motie in the series decider in Tarouba last year. Watt has the pedigree to perform a similarly constrictive role.
Pitch and conditions:
The strip in Barbados is the same that was used for Namibia’s low-scoring thriller against Oman, a slow and sticky surface in which 109 played 109 until David Wiese got busy in the Super Over. It’s a situation that arguably plays into Scotland’s nothing-to-lose hands, given that England’s recent experience of the Caribbean came in a six-laden showdown with the hosts in December, and anything that knocks their hard-hitting batters off their stride can only be a bonus for the underdogs. Buttler, however, insisted that England were “trying not to play the game before the game has been played” and would be ready to adapt to conditions.
Team news
England’s rain-affected home series with Pakistan meant they were forced to compromise their intended preparations, but in the first completed match at Edgbaston they did field what looks like being their first-choice XI for this campaign, with Archer’s return to his roots allied to that of two further players of Bajan upbringing – Salt and Chris Jordan, whose all-round power has been preferred to that of their star of the 2022 T20 World Cup, Sam Curran. Reece Topley, the most luckless campaigner in recent England history, is likely to be preferred to Mark Wood, despite the latter’s brisk return to action at The Oval, and will be steering clear of the boundary ropes after his freak injury in Brisbane in 2022.
England (probable): 1 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 2 Phil Salt, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley
Scotland were unable to call upon Josh Davey and Andrew Umeed for this tournament, due to their county commitments with Somerset, but can otherwise draw on a strong squad with plenty of experience from the last two T20 World Cups. Left-arm seamer Brad Currie, who made headlines with his fielding in the Blast, is a new addition, and finished as the leading wicket-taker at last year’s ICC Europe Region Qualifier. Ollie Hairs will compete for an opening spot with Michael Jones, while the experienced Safyaan Sharif and Jack Jarvis, a 21-year-old seamer who debuted in March, add to Scotland’s bowling options.
Scotland (possible): 1 George Munsey, 2 Michael Jones, 3 Brandon McMullen, 4 Richie Berrington (capt), 5 Matt Cross (wk), 6 Michael Leask, 7 Chris Greaves, 8 Mark Watt, 9 Brad Wheal, 10 Chris Sole, 11 Brad Currie
Stats that matter
England have never yet beaten a European nation at the T20 World Cup. They lost to Netherlands in 2009 and again in 2014, and had the worst of two rain-affected clashes against Ireland in 2010 and 2022. They lost the latter, and were saved by a washout in the former… though on both occasions they recovered to lift the trophy.
Moeen Ali needs two more wickets to reach 50 in T20Is.
Buttler became England’s most-capped player and first man to score 3000 runs in T20Is during the series against Pakistan.
Quotes
“It feels like a real World Cup, lots of teams involved. There are never any easy games. Every game we have to be right on it and match the intensity required for the game. All we are focused on is that Scotland match. That is the biggest and most important thing right now.” Jos Buttler, England’s captain, is keeping his eyes firmly on the task at hand.
“It’s a really exciting opportunity for us as an Associate nation to get to play England. Although we’re very close to England we don’t seem to play them very often but we’ve got great memories from the last time, so to get to play them at a World Cup is pretty special.” Matthew Cross evokes Scotland’s 2018 win before the Barbados rematch
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
