The two most recent champions along with three spirited associates make up Group B of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
England, the defending champions of the Men’s T20 World Cup, and Australia, the winners of the 2021 edition, are in Group B along with Namibia, Oman and Scotland. Only the top two teams will progress to the Super 8s phase of the event.
While all eyes will be on the big names from Australia and England, there’s enough potential in Namibia, Oman, and Scotland to make the group results interesting.
Australia
Despite not reaching the final four stage of their home T20 World Cup in 2022, Australia are among the favourites in this edition. The talented side have a history of doing well in ICC events, and the current unit features several players in rich form with recent ICC success.
Squad
Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Fixtures
Wednesday, 5 June 2024
v Oman, Barbados, 08:30 PM Local
Saturday, 8 June 2024
v England, Barbados, 01:00 PM Local
Tuesday, 11 June 2024
v Namibia, Antigua, 08:30 PM Local
Saturday, 15 June 2024
v Scotland, St. Lucia, 08:30 PM Local
Watch out for
Travis Head has been Australia’s star performer in ICC tournaments of late, as shown through his stellar performances during the ICC World Test Championship final and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup semi-final and final.
Having won two ICC titles for Australia since June 2023, Head would like to make it a hat-trick for the men’s side with his dynamic display on the field.
Adding to his repertoire is his explosive form in the IPL, where he has scored more than 500 runs at a strike rate just below 200.
England
The defending champions, England, will yet again look to bank on the attacking style of play that has served them so well in the limited-overs format.
The return of pace spearhead Jofra Archer to the line-up is a big plus in a squad that seems to have all the key bases covered.
Squad
Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood
Fixtures
Tuesday, 4 June 2024
v Scotland, Barbados, 10:30 AM Local
Saturday, 8 June 2024
v Australia, Barbados, 01:00 PM Local
Thursday, 13 June 2024
v Oman, Antigua, 03:00 PM Local
Saturday, 15 June 2024
v Namibia, Antigua, 01:00 PM Local
Watch out for
Despite not featuring in the business end of England’s successful 2022 campaign, Mark Wood left his mark on the tournament with his propensity to rattle up opposition batters.
Raw pace serves a dual purpose in Wood’s armour, helping extract that extra zip out of the wicket while also clouding the batter’s shot-making ability by reducing the time available for shot selection.
