England is set to face Scotland in a Group B match of the T20 World Cup 2024 on Tuesday at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. The game will commence at 10:30 AM local time (7:30 PM in Pakistan).
Jos Buttler leads a fully fit England squad, aiming to defend their T20 World Cup title. England recently won a T20I series against Pakistan 2-0, demonstrating strong form. In contrast, Scotland, captained by Richie Berrington, lost a warm-up match against Afghanistan.
Buttler emphasized the importance of not underestimating Scotland, expressing excitement for the challenge. "We expect a tough challenge and we’re all excited for that," Buttler stated. "They’ve come here to try and win games. They want to beat us and we want to beat them, so it’s pretty straightforward. Every game we have to be right on it. All we are focused on is that Scotland match and that is the biggest and most important thing right now."
Scotland’s Chris Greaves remains confident about their chances against England, viewing the match as a classic derby with high stakes. "It’s a typical Derby isn’t it? We look forward to it. We’ve kept quite grounded as a squad," he remarked. "Some people call it an upset but as a squad we know we have done it before and the nice thing is we just say ‘why not?’ It is a great opportunity for cricket in Scotland."
The historic Kensington Oval in Barbados, known for its challenging conditions for batsmen, will host this match. The average first-innings total at this venue is 138, with seam bowlers often finding early movement advantageous. In a recent match between Namibia and Oman, 11 out of 16 wickets fell to seamers, with both teams bowled out for 109 runs each.
Weather conditions might influence the game, as Accuweather.com predicts scattered morning thunderstorms and high humidity throughout the day. Light showers are expected after midday, and windy conditions may develop later, potentially causing match interruptions with a 55% chance of rain and 33% chance of lightning by nightfall.
Squads:
England: Jonny Bairstow, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Mark Wood, Tom Hartley, Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Reece Topley, Moeen Ali.
Scotland: Chris Greaves, Matthew Cross (wk), Safyaan Sharif, Brad Currie, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Jack Jarvis, Mark Watt, Michael Leask, Richie Berrington (c), Brad Wheal, Charlie Tear (wk), Oli Hairs, Chris Sole.