T20 World Cup: Australia beat Scotland, send England into Super Eight

Australia secured a five-wicket victory over Scotland in St Lucia on Saturday, eliminating the Scots from the T20 World Cup and sending defending champions England through to the Super Eight stage.

Following England's rain-affected win over Namibia in Antigua earlier in the day, Scotland needed a draw, a washout, or a first-ever win over Australia to progress from Group B at the expense of their southern neighbors.

Clear skies at Gros Islet meant the Scots had to rely solely on their cricketing skills. They made a strong effort, posting 180-5 from their 20 overs, highlighted by a quickfire 60 from Brandon McMullen and an unbeaten 42 from skipper Richie Berrington.

Australia, already assured of their spot in the second round, struggled initially with their fielding and the start of their innings. However, Travis Head (68) and Marcus Stoinis (59) accelerated in the last 10 overs, securing the win.

"Scotland are a really good outfit; they took it down to the wire and it was a good chase in the end," said Australia captain Mitchell Marsh. "The World Cup kind of starts again now; we're excited about what's to come."

Berrington, whose team was eliminated due to a lower net run rate than England, expressed his disappointment. "I thought we were in a pretty good position," he said. "Unfortunately, we didn't execute for long enough. I think the guys can hold their heads high regarding how they've played their cricket throughout the tournament."

Australia won the toss and chose to field first. Ashton Agar bowled opener Michael Jones in the first over, but George Munsey and McMullen built a solid platform with an 89-run partnership for the second wicket. Munsey was dismissed for 35 by Glenn Maxwell, and Adam Zampa eventually dismissed McMullen, who had hit two sixes and six fours before being caught by Mitchell Starc.

Berrington continued the effort but Scotland managed only 42 runs in their final five overs as Australia's bowlers tightened their grip, compensating for a fielding performance marred by dropped catches.

Scotland carried some momentum into the Australian innings, quickly dismissing David Warner (1), Marsh (8), and Maxwell (11), the latter bowled by a brilliant delivery from left-arm spinner Mark Watt.

Opener Travis Head, however, rose to the challenge, and alongside Marcus Stoinis, they forged an 80-run partnership for the third wicket that shifted the game in Australia's favor. Head hit three sixes off successive legal deliveries from Safyaan Sharif before the Scottish seamer ended his innings. Despite this, Australia was firmly on the path to victory.

Watt returned to remove Stoinis, but Tim David and Matthew Wade saw Australia across the line, quashing any conspiracy theories that Australia might lose deliberately to eliminate England from the tournament.

**Squads:**

*Australia*: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa.

*Scotland*: George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, Richie Berrington (capt), Matthew Cross (wk), Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Chris Sole, Brad Wheal, Safyaan Sharif.