T20 World Cup 2024: Paine urges Australia to 'manipulate' Scotland game

Former Australia test team captain Tim Paine wants Mitchell Marsh and his men to manipulate their T20 World Cup 2024 final group game against Scotland and also wants to knock England out of the tournamentDefending champions England find themselves in a precarious spot after a washedout game and a heavy defeat against Australia who have qualified for the Super Eights of the T20 World Cup 2024Absolutely they should manipulate the result and Im not even joking Ive spoken to people about this in the last few days Im dead serious Paine said on Sen RadioEngland is in the fourth position in the Group B of the T20 World Cup 2024 With a net run rate of 1800 and two games yet to be played the Englishmen are way behind Scotland which enjoys second position with five points and a net run rate of 2164In the attempt to make it to the Super 8 Jos Buttlerled England not only needs to win their remaining matches of the T20 World Cup 2024 with huge margins but also needs to expect Australia to hand a huge defeat to Scotland If this happens then Scotlands net run rate will be affected leading to a boost in the chances of EnglandPaine clarified that he didnt want Australia to lose the match but rather make it close enough for England to be eliminatedAlso ReadT20 World Cup 2024 IND vs USA Men in Blue eye streak extending win against the debutantsIm not sure what the net run rate looks like you dont have to lose the game I think they can just let Scotland get close enoughAgain lets not get too far ahead of ourselves Scotland could have a day out But say Scotland batted first and got to 140 and we chased it off 195 overs to make sure they dont suffer a big net run rate lossI think England have to win both of their games by about 50 runs to even get up towards Scotlands net run rate So its certainly plausible that you can win the game but still ensure England dont progress he addedThe former wicketkeeper batter sees this as a smart calculated move that may help Australia later in the tournamentThats not just because its England You got to go into these tournaments trying to win a World Cup Who could certainly pose a threat in the latter rounds That is EnglandDespite having a disappointing start to the T20 World Cup 2024 Paine feels that the Three Lions are capable to turn things around and defend their titleAlso ReadIN PHOTOS MCA brings mortal remains of president Amol Kale to Wankhede StadiumTheres no doubt they are still one of the best teams in the world they got off to a horrible start and now its in our handsIf you could knock out one of the most highly fancied teams in the tournament and do it in a way thats youre not deliberately losing a game Im all for itYoure manipulating the net run rates a little bit you can say whatever you want to say but to me it is smart calculated tournament playWere here to win a World Cup I wouldnt want to play England in the semifinal Theyve got six or seven guys that could take a game away from you much like Australia doIf you can have a side like that and not go through to the next phase it makes the World Cup easier for you to win he addedAustralia pacer Josh Hazlewood also acknowledged the potential benefit in hindering Englands progress and said it would serve best interest for all teamsYeah I think so In this tournament you potentially come up against England at some stage again Hazlewood said in the media interaction after their big ninewicket win over Namibia in North SoundTheyre probably one of the top few teams on their day and weve had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket so if we can get them out of the tournament thats in our best interest as well as probably everyone elseHazlewood however suggested that the teams approach will remain unchanged leaving decisions about game manipulation to othersBut yeah itll be interesting to see Weve never really been in this position before as a team I dont think so whether we have discussions or not well just try and play it again the way we did tonight Yeah thatll be up to people not meWith PTI Inputs