Pat Cummins denies claims that Australia might ‘manipulate’ Scotland result to eliminate England | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Australia will take on Scotland in their final group-stage match of the T20 World Cup at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Australian all-rounder Pat Cummins has refuted claims that his team would consider manipulating their final group match against Scotland to eliminate England from the T20 World Cup.
Prior to Australia’s statement, speculation arose after comments made by Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, who jokingly suggested the team might attempt to restrict Scotland’s run rate.This strategy, if implemented, could have potentially knocked England out of the tournament despite their recent resurgence.

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England, initially struggling in the Super Eight race, dramatically improved their net run rate by defeating Oman comprehensively. This victory placed them in a strong position to qualify, contingent on a win against Namibia in their final group match.
After Tim Paine had urged the Australian team to ‘manipulate’ the results so that England could be knocked out, Hazlewood’s comments hinted at a potential disruption to this scenario, sparking debate about the ethics of manipulating match outcomes to influence the tournament’s progression.

Cummins, addressing the controversy, clarified that Hazlewood’s statements were made in jest and taken out of context. “I was speaking to Joshy, who had a bit of a joke about it the other day, and think it got taken a little bit out of context,” said Cummins, as quoted by Reuters.
“We’ll go there and just try and play Scotland, who have had a really good tournament so far and will be tough. It’s (net run rate) something you kind of discuss as one of the quirks of the set-up but in terms of does it change the way we play? Absolutely not,” Cummins stated, reiterating their focus on securing a victory against Scotland.
Despite the clarification, the situation highlights the ethical considerations surrounding intentional underperformance in sports. While Australia has denied any such intentions, the incident prompts a broader discussion about sportsmanship and the integrity of competition.