Matthew Mott has promised England will set out to make a “statement” in Saturday’s T20 World Cup clash with Australia after a damp start to their trophy defence.
Heavy rainfall in Barbados meant only 10 overs were possible in the champions’ Group B opener against Scotland, with the points shared on a frustrating night.
Scotland had won the toss and posted 90 without loss either side of a long rain delay to leave England a DLS-adjusted target of 109 from 10 overs, only for bad weather to return during the change of innings.
Scotland captain Richie Berrington admitted his frustration at missing out on a shot at a major upset, while Mott insisted England would have been firm favourites in the chase.
The toss can be argued either way, but with the points shared, the onus is now on England to kick-start their campaign into life against the Aussies at Kensington Oval this weekend.
“Yeah, we’re looking to do that, definitely,” said England’s white-ball head coach Mott, when asked whether his side will be looking for a statement win in Saturday’s meeting of the two previous champions.
“We were really keen to make a statement there. We match up really well against Australia, and whatever the result of this game, it was going to be a big game the next one and we’re really looking forward to it.”
Despite England going on the hunt for early wickets with the express pace of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, Scotland openers George Munsey and Michael Jones got the associate nation off to a flying start, putting on 51 in 6.2 overs before a long rain break and then kicking on again once the game restarted, with the innings reduced to 10 overs.
This was the first-ever men’s T20 between the nations, but Scotland had claimed a famous victory in their most recent meeting, a one-day international in Edinburgh six years ago, and had set their sights on another shock.
“I think we certainly gave ourselves a chance there,” Berrington said. “It would have been interesting to see how the weather would have affected the pitch, because it did look like a little bit of uneven bounce, as we expected during the day.
“I think if we bowled and fielded well, we certainly had an opportunity there.”
Typically, though, the chasing team is favoured in rain-affected games, and Mott insists the combination of England’s power-packed line-up and the fact Scotland would have had to bowl in wet, greasy conditions marked his side as favourites.
“I think we had all the advantage in that,” Mott said.
“I think it was going to be a wet ball, 10 wickets in hand, only 10 overs. I think if we got back out there, I think it would have been tough on Scotland, given the start that they had.
“But I thought it was well within our grasp to achieve that. I think the way we’re looking to play, we’d look to be at that mark in a 20-over game. So, yeah, I think we were very confident.”
