Other than reigniting cricket’s oldest rivalry, Group B, comprising Australia, England, Namibia, Oman and Scotland, offers little in terms of throwing a spanner in the works as far as the make-up of the Super Eights is concerned. Australia and England, winners of the last two editions of the T20 World Cup, respectively, will expect to sail through the group stage with relative ease, riding on a bevy of all-round options.
Defending champion England has retained the core of its 2022 T20 World Cup-winning side, with as many as eight players who featured in the final against Pakistan finding a place in the squad for the upcoming event. Among the notable absentees are Ben Stokes, who opted out of the tournament in April, the retired Alex Hales, and Chris Woakes.
However, since lifting its second T20 title, England hasn’t had a smooth run in the shortest format, having lost eight of its 12 matches, which include series defeats against Bangladesh and West Indies. The side’s topsy-turvy returns closely mirror its captain Jos Buttler’s mixed dividends in international cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL) of late. However, England’s top order will be buoyed by the fearless hitting ability of Phil Salt.
With Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone and Will Jacks to follow, England will hope to maintain the thrill-a-minute tempo that has come to define its cricket of late. Despite its recent failures, England is the third-fastest scoring team in T20Is in the last 12 months, going at 9.37 runs per over.
Tearaway speedster Jofra Archer’s much-awaited return to international cricket from injury also bodes well for England, which hasn’t succeeded in identifying a pace spearhead in the run-up to the global showpiece. But given his spate of injuries (back and elbow) in recent years, Archer and England will have their ‘fingers crossed’.
With Chris Jordan also being named in the squad, Archer will not be the only one returning from the international wilderness. Jordan last turned up for England last September, featuring in just the lone T20I in the four-match series against New Zealand at home, but his death-overs specialisation and his recent upturn in the batting department brought him back into the scheme of things.
With Archer, Jordan, Mark Wood and Reece Topley in the ranks, England is spoilt for choices in the pace bowling department. All-rounders Moeen Ali and Sam Curran add batting firepower at the death and help England strike a judicious balance between its seam and spin attack, which will be led by leggie Adil Rashid.
Similarly, archrival Australia’s campaign will also revolve around its pantheon of all-rounders, who lend dynamism to the middle-order. Led by skipper Mitchell Marsh, who was handed over the reins of the T20I side last year, Australia boasts of a side with relentless batting ammunition all the way down to No. 7. Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell’s presence in the middle-order provides the 2021 champion with seven bowling options too, ensuring neither department is comprised.
With Cameron Green and spin all-rounder Ashton Agar also on the roster, Australia has enough wiggle room to extend its batting depth and allow the top-order to go hell for leather. The Aussies are the fastest-scoring team in T20Is in the last 12 months, averaging 10.11 per six balls, and with a top-three comprising David Warner, Travis Head and Marsh, they would back themselves to continue in a similar vein.
Race against time: Aussie T20I skipper Mitchell Marsh has not played since his last appearance for Delhi Capitals in the IPL on April 3 due to a right hamstring strain. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
With Tim David and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade entrusted with the role of going berserk at the death, there is little that will deter Australia from its approach.
To back up its batting might, Australia will unleash the enviable pace troika of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, with Adam Zampa helming the spin attack. While Cummins has overseen Sunrisers Hyderabad’s fearless approach in the IPL and has also had a fruitful outing with the ball, Starc’s dwindling returns in the shortest format could pose a concern.
As cover, Australia has the option of roping in Nathan Ellis, a proven death-overs specialist who can also thrive across phases with his variations.
Though it’s a long shot, the team that comes close to potentially upsetting powerhouses England and Australia is Namibia, which qualified for its third consecutive T20 World Cup after an unbeaten run of six games in the Africa Region Qualifier tournament last year.
Currently ranked No. 14 in the world, Namibia stunned Sri Lanka in the opening game of the 2022 T20 World Cup and had shown an appetite for a fight in the tournament in the preceding year.
The African nation will be led by all-rounder Gerhard Erasmus, who bats in the top order and can also open the bowling with his off-break. He will helm a 15-member squad that includes 12 players who featured in Namibia’s victorious Africa Qualifier campaign.
One spot above Namibia in the global team rankings, Scotland too has punched above its weight in the past, having beaten West Indies in the last edition of the tournament.
The Scottish Saltires also emerged from the Europe Region Qualifier unscathed, winning six out of six games while also beating a higher-ranked Irish side.
Leading from the front is top-order batter Richie Berrington, who was Scotland’s joint-highest run-scorer in the Qualifier event, with 248 runs at an impressive strike rate over 170.
The tournament was headlined by the Scottish pair of Ollie Hairs, who struck at over 200 for 248 runs, and left-arm seamer Bradley Currie, who was the top wicket-taker, with 12 scalps at 4.80 runs an over.
The lowest-ranked side in the group, Oman (18), was also unbeaten in the Asia Qualifier tournament last year and clinched the final against Nepal in a thrilling Super Over finish after thrashing Bahrain by 10 wickets in the semifinal, which confirmed its participation in the upcoming World Cup.
The team will have a new skipper in 31-year-old all-rounder Aqib Ilyas, who takes over from 36-year-old Zeeshan Maqsood, who will make his third appearance for Oman at the T20 World Cup after 2016 and 2021.
The bowling will be spearheaded by left-arm seamer and Peshawar-born Bilal Khan, known for his scorching yorkers.
Two teams that will qualify
It will probably come down to the June 8 clash between England and Australia in Bridgetown as far as deciding the top team in the group is concerned.
Dark horse
Scotland is most well-equipped to stage an upset, having previously beaten Test-playing nations at the T20 World Cup. England, which has lost to Netherlands and Ireland in previous editions of the World Cup, will be most wary. England has already been stung by Scotland in the past, having lost an ODI by six runs back in 2018.
Three standout players:
Phil Salt hammered back-to-back hundreds the last time he visited the Caribbean shores. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Phil Salt – He hammered back-to-back hundreds the last time he visited the Caribbean shores and subsequently grabbed his opportunity in the IPL by striking at over 180 as an opener for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Travis Head – The left-handed opener has earned a reputation for being a player for big occasions, owing to his exploits in the World Test Championship final and the World Cup summit clash last year. That he heads into another global tournament on the back of a trailblazing IPL season should be cause for concern for opposition teams.
The left-handed opener has earned a reputation for being a player for big occasions. | Photo Credit: PTI
Gerhard Erasmus – The Namibian skipper has donned the role of both batter and bowler with elan. In the past year, the 29-year-old has been his team’s third-most prolific run-scorer (360) while also picking up the highest number of wickets (24) in T20Is.
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