T20 World Cup, Australia vs Scotland: Fantasy 11 Prediction, teams, captain, vice-captain, toss and venue analysis

Josh Hazlewood stirred a controversy when he stated that eliminating England out of the Super 8 would be in the best interest of every team in the tournament. His comments, which might have been made in good humour, have not gone down well with a section of the media and the English fans who have termed it as manipulation. Australia clashes with Scotland in Gros Islet early on Sunday and should they slip and the latter manage a surprise win, England will not progress to the Super 8. Will Australia drop their guard to accommodate Scotland and to send their arch-rivals England packing? Will such a move be described as astute cricketing tactics or is it against the spirit of the game?

St Lucia will be hosting its first match of the tournament. Australia might experiment and make a few changes in their XI while Scotland is expected to go in with the same XI. Australia have been in tremendous form and won their last five encounters. Scotland have won three of their last five matches.

LAST 5 MATCHES

AUSTRALIA – WWWWW

SCOTLAND – WLNRWW

Likely Playing XIs

Australia likely XI

Batters – David Warner, Travis Head

All-Rounders – Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green

Wicketkeeper – Matthew Wade

Bowlers – Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa

Scotland likely XI

Batters – George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, Richie Berrington

All-Rounders – Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt

Wicketkeeper – Matthew Cross

Bowlers – Chris Sole, Brad Wheal, Safyaan Sharif

Statistical Performance (Australia)

1. Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell is a big-match player and will be key for Australia in the middle-order. He can single-handedly take the game away from Scotland and such is his ability that the conditions and the state of the pitch becomes inconsequential. Maxwell has the highest number of hundreds in T20I cricket along with Rohit Sharma (5).

GLENN MAXWELL IN T20 WORLD CUPS

2. Josh Hazlewood

Josh Hazlewood’s greatest strength is his line and length and accuracy and he could be a menace with the new ball for the Scottish openers. Hazlewood has an excellent record in T20Is – he has picked 64 wickets in 48 matches at a strike rate of 17 and economy of 7.5.

JOSH HAZLEWOOD IN T20 WORLD CUPS

INNINGS – 16

WICKETS – 20

STRIKE RATE – 17.7

ECONOMY RATE – 7.28

AVERAGE – 21.5

Players who can make a Difference (Australia)

1. Travis Head

Head was in ballistic form in the IPL and went helter-skelter in the powerplay. No batter scored more runs than him in the first six overs. The conditions are a bit more bowler-friendly in the Caribbean but Head has the ability and the temperament to adjust his game accordingly. Head has a strike rate of almost 150 in T20I cricket. He is particularly severe against pace against whom his scoring rate rises to 164!

2. Mitchell Starc

Starc is a match-winner with the new ball and a big-tournament player. He has an uncanny ability to pick wickets in the first over. Starc has bagged 76 wickets in 62 T20I matches at a strike rate of 18.2!

Statistical Performance (Scotland)

1. Michael Jones

Michael Jones is an explosive opener who hammered 45 off only 30 balls against England before the rain intervened. Jones has a strike rate of close to 140 in T20I cricket!

MICHAEL JONES IN T20Is

2. George Munsey

George Munsey is a veteran opener for Scotland who has an excellent record in T20I cricket. Munsey has a batting average of 31.5 and strike rate of 143.2. He scored a breathtaking 41 off just 20 deliveries against Oman.

GEORGE MUNSEY IN T20Is

Players who can make a Difference (Scotland)

1. Richard Berrington

37-year old Richard Berrington, is the captain of Scotland who has scored over 2000 runs in T20Is for his country in 84 innings at an average of 31.6 and strike rate of 132.3. Berrington has registered one hundred and 10 fifties in the format.

2. Chris Sole

Right-arm fast-medium, Chris Sole is a wicket-taker for Scotland and recently returned with two three-wicket hauls for his country – he bagged 3-35 against Afghanistan in the warm-up at Port of Spain and had also returned with figures of 3-28 against Ireland in The Hague last month.

Team Head to Head

Australia and Scotland have never faced each other in a T20I. They were scheduled to meet in a one-off clash in Edinburgh in 2020 but that match was cancelled due to Covid-19.

Player Head to Head

1. DAVID WARNER vs OFF SPINNERS IN T20Is SINCE 2022

INNINGS – 8

BALLS FACED – 49

RUNS SCORED – 75

WICKETS – 4

David Warner has been troubled by off spinners since 2022. He has been dismissed by them 4 times in 8 innings though he has still been aggressive against them. Michael Leask could be a good option against Warner in the powerplay.

2. TRAVIS HEAD vs LEFT-ARM ORTHODOX IN T20Is SINCE 2022

INNINGS – 3

BALLS FACED – 27

RUNS SCORED – 41

WICKETS – 3

Unlike Warner, his opening partner Travis Head, who was in great form in the IPL, does not have a problem against the leaving ball. But left-arm orthodox spin has had Head in a spot of bother in recent times.

3. GEORGE MUNSEY Vs LEFT-ARM PACE IN T20Is SINCE 2022

INNINGS – 7

BALLS FACED – 44

RUNS SCORED – 50

WICKETS – 2

George Munsey has struggled against left-arm pace in T20Is since 2022 and will have to battle it out against the best in the business – Mitchell Starc – in the powerplay.

Venue and Pitch

The Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet at St Lucia has hosted 18 T20Is. Batting first is the preferred option with the captain winning the toss deciding to set a target on 12 occasions. The probability of winning the match after winning the toss is 50%. The average score batting first is 160 for 7 while the average score chasing is 151 for 6. The highest score at St Lucia is 199 while the lowest is 105. The average score is 156. The team batting first and the team chasing have won 9 matches each at St Lucia.

St Lucia is amongst the best batting wickets in the Caribbean with the highest scoring rate amongst all World Cup venues since 2022. Pacers have picked 58% of the wickets at an average of 23 and economy of 8 while the spinners have bagged 42% of the wickets at an average of 30 and economy of 7.8.

The mean temperature will be around 29 degrees and it may be partly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain.

Match Prediction

Australia will start overwhelming favourites against Scotland. Adam Zampa could play a big role in the middle overs. Munsey will be the key batter for Scotland at the top of the order and his battle with Starc could define the course of the match. Based on the strengths of both teams, Australia start with an 80% chance of victory.

Fantasy XI

And finally, this is our Fantasy XI for the Australia vs Scotland encounter. We have 8 players from Australia and 3 from Scotland. Starc will be lethal with the new ball while Zampa will be the playmaker in the middle overs. Pat Cummins is very effective in the death as he recently showcased in the IPL too. Travis Head and George Munsey could form a devastating opening combo while Maxwell and Stoinis will be the hitters down the order.

Backup players include Brandon McMullen as batter, Cameron Green as all-rounder and Josh Hazlewood as bowler.

FANTASY XI FOR AUSTRALIA vs SCOTLAND

Wicketkeeper: MATTHEW CROSS

Batters: TRAVIS HEAD, DAVID WARNER, GEORGE MUNSEY, RICHIE BERRINGTON

All-rounders: MITCHELL MARSH, GLENN MAXWELL, MARCUS STOINIS

Bowlers: MITCHELL STARC, PAT CUMMINS, ADAM ZAMPA

BACKUP PLAYERS:

BATTER – BRANDON MCMULLEN

BOWLER – JOSH HAZLEWOOD

ALL-ROUNDER – CAMERON GREEN