Scotland were up against a formidable Australian team that had dominated opponents in each of their first three games. Scotland needed a win to advance at England’s expense, and they played excellent cricket for the first 20 overs, but Australia leveraged their experience to turn the game around, winning their final Group B match in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup by five wickets. This defeat eliminated Scotland from the tournament, while England advanced to the Super 8s.
Scotland’s innings got off to a shaky start. Michael Jones was dismissed by Ashton Agar in the first over, and it took the next dozen balls for them to adjust to the swing from Mitchell Starc and Nathan Ellis. However, Brandon McMullen launched an aggressive attack in the fourth over, which would become his best performance in the T20 World Cup.
McMullen’s striking was sublime, hitting the ball cleanly and confidently. George Munsey also found his rhythm at the other end, as Scotland effectively utilised the windy conditions to their advantage. McMullen targeted Ashton Agar, while Munsey punished Glenn Maxwell with back-to-back sixes in the final over of the powerplay. Although Maxwell managed to dismiss Munsey, Scotland continued to press on. McMullen scored a half-century before falling to Adam Zampa. Captain Richie Berrington contributed a valuable 42 runs. Australia managed to tighten their grip in the final five overs, with Ellis bowling two economical overs at the death and taking a wicket, restricting Scotland to 181 when a total over 200 seemed likely at one stage.
In response, Australia had a poor start with the bat, losing David Warner and Mitchell Marsh early. Mark Watt bowled a superb delivery to dismiss Glenn Maxwell. However, Travis Head anchored the innings, looking for a partner to support him. In-form Marcus Stoinis rose to the occasion, relieving the pressure with his powerful strokes and innovative reverse-sweeps. The momentum shifted decisively in Australia’s favour when Stoinis took 18 runs off Michael Leask in the 14th over.
The next two overs yielded 11 and 24 runs respectively, and despite losing Head, Australia regained control of the match. Although Watt managed to take Stoinis’s wicket after he reached his fifty, the damage was already done. Scotland did take the wickets of both set batters, but by then, Australia’s win was all but assured.