Group B preview: Cricket heavyweights joined by trio of sides out to impress
Australia and England will be favourites to progress out of Group B at the T20 World Cup, but Namibia, Oman and Scotland have shown previously they are more than capable of causing an upset or two.
By Divy Tripathi
The two most recent champions along with three spirited associates make up Group B of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
England, the defending champions of the Men’s T20 World Cup, and Australia, the winners of the 2021 edition, are in Group B along with Namibia, Oman and Scotland. Only the top two teams will progress to the Super 8s phase of the event.
While all eyes will be on the big names from Australia and England, there’s enough potential in Namibia, Oman, and Scotland to make the group results interesting.
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Australia
Despite not reaching the final four stage of their home T20 World Cup in 2022, Australia are among the favourites in this edition. The talented side have a history of doing well in ICC events, and the current unit features several players in rich form with recent ICC success.
Squad
Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Fixtures
Wednesday, 5 June 2024
v Oman, Barbados, 08:30 PM Local
Saturday, 8 June 2024
v England, Barbados, 01:00 PM Local
Tuesday, 11 June 2024
v Namibia, Antigua, 08:30 PM Local
Saturday, 15 June 2024
v Scotland, St. Lucia, 08:30 PM Local
Watch out for
Travis Head has been Australia’s star performer in ICC tournaments of late, as shown through his stellar performances during the ICC World Test Championship final and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup semi-final and final.
Having won two ICC titles for Australia since June 2023, Head would like to make it a hat-trick for the men’s side with his dynamic display on the field.
Adding to his repertoire is his explosive form in the IPL, where he has scored more than 500 runs at a strike rate just below 200.
Australia claim maiden Men's T20 World Cup title | Match Highlights | 2021 T20 World Cup
England
The defending champions, England, will yet again look to bank on the attacking style of play that has served them so well in the limited-overs format.
The return of pace spearhead Jofra Archer to the line-up is a big plus in a squad that seems to have all the key bases covered.
Squad
Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood
Fixtures
Tuesday, 4 June 2024
v Scotland, Barbados, 10:30 AM Local
Saturday, 8 June 2024
v Australia, Barbados, 01:00 PM Local
Thursday, 13 June 2024
v Oman, Antigua, 03:00 PM Local
Saturday, 15 June 2024
v Namibia, Antigua, 01:00 PM Local
Watch out for
Despite not featuring in the business end of England’s successful 2022 campaign, Mark Wood left his mark on the tournament with his propensity to rattle up opposition batters.
Raw pace serves a dual purpose in Wood’s armour, helping extract that extra zip out of the wicket while also clouding the batter’s shot-making ability by reducing the time available for shot selection.
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Namibia
Namibia qualified for the T20 World Cup on the back of a stellar run at the Africa Regional Qualifier stage. They were undefeated in the tournament, securing wins over six teams including co-qualifiers Uganda and Test-playing Zimbabwe. Success over Test nations isn’t a new phenomenon for the Eagles, who stunned Sri Lanka in the last edition of the T20 World Cup, and they’d like to repeat the feat in the upcoming event.
Squad
Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Michael Van Lingen, Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni, Niko Davin, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, JP Kotze, David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Malan Kruger, PD Blignaut
Fixtures
Sunday, 2 June 2024
v Oman, Barbados, 08:30 PM Local
Thursday, 6 June 2024
v Scotland, Barbados, 03:00 PM Local
Tue, 11 June 2024
v Australia, Antigua, 08:30 PM Local
Saturday, 15 June 2024
v England, Antigua, 01:00 PM Local
Watch out for
Since making his international comeback with Namibia, David Wiese has been living the dream. The 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup will be his third consecutive tournament this decade, and the all-rounder will be raring to go in all departments on the field.
His hammer-and-tongs approach with the willow and clever assortment of cutters and slower balls have served the Eagles well and the burly all-rounder will look to light up Group B with his performances.
Oman
The sole Asian side in the group, Oman, carry a fair mix of tournament experience in their ranks. This will be their third appearance in the T20 World Cup, and the side would love to leave their mark with a good showing. Their opening encounter on 2 June against Namibia, a side they’ve defeated twice in the past, could set the tone for their tournament.
Squad
Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Rafiullah, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmad, Khalid Kail. Reserves: Jatinder Singh, Samay Shrivastava, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra
Fixtures
Sunday, 2 June 2024
v Namibia, Barbados, 08:30 PM Local
Wednesday, 5 June 2024
v Australia, Barbados, 08:30 PM Local
Sun, 9 June 2024
v Scotland, Antigua, 01:00 PM Local
Thursday, 13 June 2024
v England, Antigua, 03:00 PM Local
Watch out for
Skipper Aqib Ilyas, a solid top-order batter and a top-draw spinner, will be key to Oman’s hopes in the T20 World Cup. He might be a newly appointed leader, but the presence of former captain, Zeeshan Maqsood, in the squad means that the all-rounder will have plenty of support on the field.
Aqib’s captaincy tenure has seen his numbers improve, with the batter averaging 42.5 at a strike-rate of 158.38, from his seven games.
Scotland
Richie Berrington’s Scotland have a number of players with a fair amount of global T20 cricket experience and will seek to bring that knowledge to best use in their group encounters in the West Indies.
The Scots have a proud cricketing history, which includes defeating neighbouring rivals England in ODI cricket in 2018. Their meeting on 4 June in Barbados will be the first-ever in T20I format, and Berrington’s side would be more than chuffed if they pull off a similar result to give their campaign a perfect start.
Squad
Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross, Brad Currie, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Jack Jarvis, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Charlie Tear, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal
Fixtures
Tuesday, 4 June 2024
v England, Barbados, 10:30 AM Local
Thursday, 6 June 2024
v Namibia, Barbados, 03:00 PM Local
Sun, 9 June 2024
v Oman, Antigua, 01:00 PM Local
Saturday, 15 June 2024
v Australia, St. Lucia, 08:30 PM Local
Watch out for
Left-arm spinner Mark Watt has been Scotland’s go-to bowler for some time now. The tweaker makes good use of the crease, varying his delivery point depending on the batter and match situation, and fluctuates his speeds to keep the opponent guessing.
His spinning darters have stood up well against famed opponents, as showed against Sri Lanka and West Indies in last year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.