Leading Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood has come forth with the suggestion that Australia may try to manipulate the margin of victory in their next Twenty20 World Cup match against Scotland in an effort to eliminate England from the competition. Mitchell Marsh, the Australian captain, might be suspended, nevertheless, if it is proven that the squad is intentionally doing this.
It should be noted that after two games, England is now in fourth place in the rankings after one loss and one postponed match. Prior to their matches against Oman and Namibia, the team’s precise standing will not be known. That being said, there’s a chance Australia defeats Scotland with a sufficient margin to allow Scotland to advance.
Also read: Josh Hazlewood: It’s ‘in our best interests’ to eliminate England early
“We’ve had some real struggles against England in T20 cricket, so if we can get them out of the tournament that’s in our best interest as well as probably everyone else,” Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood was cited by ESPNcricinfo as saying. “In this tournament you potentially come up against England at some stage again. They’re probably one of the top few teams on their day.”
It should be fascinating to observe. We haven’t really been in this situation as a team before, I don’t think, so we’ll just attempt to play it the same way we did today whether or not we have conversations. That is not for me to decide, but rather for [other] individuals.
Mitchell Marsh may receive a two-match ban.
Mitchell Marsh, Australia’s captain, may find himself in a lot of trouble if they decide to go. Marsh might be suspended for two of Australia’s upcoming three Super Eight matches if he is found guilty of a crime under Article 2.11 of the ICC’s code of conduct.
It has also been made clear that the unfair manipulation of the run rate would fall under the same category, with Marsh potentially facing charges under a level 2 offence. The rule is intended to prevent “inappropriate strategic or tactical reasons… such as when a team deliberately loses a pool match in an ICC Event in order to affect the standings of other teams in that ICC Event.”