England’s defence of the T20 World Cup begins on Tuesday with a group match against qualifiers Scotland in Barbados. Read on for more expert T20 World Cup Cricket Tips from The Kensington Oval.
Jos Buttler’s side are the overwhelming favourites to secure a comfortable victory after winning both of their warm-up matches against Pakistan. Scotland stunned a depleted West Indies side at the last global T20 tournament, but will have their work cut out for them against a team that appears to have rediscovered its previous white-ball prowess.
T20 World Cup Cricket Tips: Scotland can’t keep Salt at bay
Phil Salt’s emergence as England’s most destructive and dependable batter makes him the standout candidate to top score. The Barbados-raised cricketer has accumulated more runs than any of his team-mates in five of England’s last seven T20 internationals, including last week’s final preparation match against Pakistan.
Salt’s score of 45 off 24 balls, which included six fours and two sixes, set England on the road to victory at The Oval. His remarkable consistency since the start of 2023 means he comes into Tuesday’s clash having scored 25 runs or more in eight of his last 10 innings in this format.
Another tally of 25 or more looks well within his compass at a ground that has become known for big innings scores in the Caribbean Premier League. Salt loves playing in the West Indies too, having grown up in Barbados, while his knowledge of the Kensington Oval pitch and conditions should help him make another significant contribution with the bat.
T20 World Cup Cricket Tips: Three Lions can threaten ton by halfway mark
Much of England’s success in T20 cricket over the past few years has been built on exploiting the powerplays and this team is equipped to do that better than any of their predecessors. Openers Buttler and Alex Hales finished England’s glorious campaign Down Under with tournament strike rates of 144.23 and 147.22 two years ago – significantly higher than any of their team-mates.
Salt joins captain Buttler at the top of the order here and the dynamic Lancashire duo’s strike rates during the Pakistan series were 175.75 and 170.83 respectively. They will not hang around against a Scotland side without any well-known faces in their bowling group.
Afghanistan smashed the Scottish attack all around the park in their recent warm-up match in Trinidad with over 100 runs scored in the first 10 overs. England should threaten a ton in the same timeframe on Tuesday with a halfway total of 91.5 runs looking very gettable for the Three Lions’ stacked batting line-up.
Watt capable of sparking a recovery if top-order fails
Mark Watt top-scored for Scotland in last week’s 55-run defeat to the Blue Tigers and he may be good value to do the same at Bridgetown. The all-rounder came in at eight and made 34 off 25 balls with four fours and a six. That match was a squad game so his highest score in an official T20 international remains the 31 not out he made against Jersey last summer.
But Watt has a top score of 81 not out in the County Championship, along with a best of 47 in ODIs, which suggests he has enough ability to make a useful contribution down the order if the specialist batters have failed.
T20 World Cup Cricket Tips: England v Scotland
Phil Salt Over 24.5 Total Runs @ 1.80 with kwiff
England Over 91.5 Total Runs (0-10th Overs) @ 1.85 with kwiff
Mark Watt – Top Scotland Batter @ 30.00 with kwiff
By Simon Barlow
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