England v Scotland T20 World Cup preview

England begin their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign with an all-British clash with Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday.

With only two teams qualifying from each group of five, England can’t afford any slip ups against the so-called “lesser” nations, with ODI World Cup winners Australia also lurking in the Three Lions’ group.

We preview the action below.

England v Scotland – Tuesday 15:30

England’s preparation in their bid to defend their T20 World title in the Caribbean this month was somewhat sobered by two of their four warmup games against Pakistan being abandoned without a ball bowled, though they will be happy with their performances in the other two fixtures, which saw Jos Buttler’s men record convincing victories both defending and chasing.

Phil Salt is now an undisputable opener alongside Buttler, whilst Will Jacks makes up the rest of a new-look and dynamic top three. Jonny Bairstow hasn’t been in the greatest nick but bludgeoned three sixes in the series finale against Pakistan at the Oval as England made very light work of a typically dangerous Pakistan bowling attack. Such is the form of the top order that Phil Tufnell’s Pick for this match is England to win and Salt to hit the most runs – boosted from 3/1 to 7/2.

There’s still some questions about their middle order – strangely atypical for an England side in any format – with Harry Brook struggling for form and Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali often blowing hot or cold with the stick at the best of times, but their batting card should have enough to post a winning total against Scotland in their Group B opener on Tuesday.

England are overwhelming 1/16 favourites to get their group stage campaign underway with a victory but should be wary of some low totals in the opening few games in this year’s tournament. The hosts, West Indies, made tough work in chasing down 137 against Papa New Guinea on Sunday, while Namibia needed a Super Over to beat Oman after only managing to equal their first innings total of 109.

Slower bowlers seem to be finding joy on these weary Caribbean decks, so look out for the English spinning trio of Adil Rashid (23/10), Moeen Ali (9/2) and Liam Livingstone (11/2) if selecting your England top bowler.

Any hope for the Scots?

Scotland’s preparations for the World Cup consisted of a tri-series against Ireland and the Netherlands, playing each nation twice. One win, two defeats and an abandonment doesn’t necessarily give a ringing endorsement for the Scots as they prepare to face off against the current world champions, not least as George Munsey was the only batsman to pass fifty across all three matches with his 72 off 44 against the Netherlands.

The Scots are predictably big underdogs at 8/1 to pull off an almighty shock on Tuesday and will presumably work on creating some pressure on the English batsmen on these turgid Barbados pitches before thinking about posting their own total. With that in mind, slow left-armer Mark Watt is a good shout at 3/1 to pick up the most Scottish wickets after his remarkable 4/12 against the Netherlands last month, with Safyaan Sharif (21/10) the market favourite.

Another interesting selection is the Total Match Sixes spread, which currently stands at 4/5 for over 14.5 and 10/11 for under 14.5. Given the big dimensions of the grounds and slow wickets, there could be value in the under 14.5 option, particularly as the usually big-hitting West Indies could only muster five maximums on their own turf against minnows Papa New Guinea on Sunday.

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