Andy Schooler previews England’s T20 World Cup 2024 opener against Scotland – the sides meet in Barbados on Tuesday as Jos Buttler’s side prepare to bounce back from their disastrous campaign two years ago in India.
T20 World Cup 2024 England v Scotland
Venue: Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
Date/Time: Tuesday June 4, 1530 BST
TV: Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event
I’m expecting big things from England opener Phil Salt at the T20 World Cup – I’ve personally backed him to be tournament top run-scorer – and he can kick things off in good fashion on Tuesday. England open their title defence against a Scotland side, who are out at 7.5 to spring the upset.
Frankly, it will be very hard for their bowlers to keep a rein on the power-hitting of the English batters on a run-friendly ground – Bridgetown has the highest first-innings average score of the venues which have regularly staged T20 internationals in the past (162). Salt scored 40 here in December when he sparkled during England’s series defeat to West Indies, hitting two centuries in the five matches and finishing as top runscorer.
He returns to the Caribbean following an impressive stint in the Indian Premier League and a return to pitches on which he played so well should only increase confidence further. He’s tempting to back for England top bat but the bet I prefer if to take the overs on his total runs line. That’s set at 22.5, a figure he has surpassed in seven of his nine T20Is since the last T20 World Cup.
In the England top bowler market, Adil Rashid may well be worth a go. The Yorkshire spinner was another to shine on December’s tour of these parts, topping the wicket-taking charts with nine. Two of those came on this ground, while Rashid also claimed seven wickets in five Bridgetown games in January 2022.
It’s not hard to see Rashid tying down the Scottish batters – his economy rate in the December series was a superb 6.2. That pressure could lead to wickets. Admittedly, Bridgetown is more regarded as favouring the pace bowlers over the spinners but Rashid’s strong record here means I’m prepared to take a chance on him landing this.
T20 World Cup 2024: Netherlands v Nepal
Venue: Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, USA
Date/Time: Tuesday Jun 4, 1630 BST
TV: Sky Sports Action
I wasn’t initially going to look at this game but there’s a stat I wanted to get out there as it could prove a good money-maker during the tournament. Michael Levitt has made an impressive start to life in the Dutch team and since coming into the side earlier this year, the 20-year-old has won his side’s top runscorer market four times out of eight.
OK, it’s a small sample but a 50% strike rate is excellent and certainly suggests the opener should be favourite. He isn’t though and odds of 3.55 with kwiff are good value. Back him.
T20 World Cup 2024: Tuesday Best Bets
Phil Salt over 22.5 runs @ 1.8 with kwiff
Adil Rashid England top bowler @ 3.4 with kwiff
Michael Levitt Netherlands top batter @ 3.55 with kwiff
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