England paceman Mark Wood mentioned they will support Australia when they meet Scotland in the Sunday T20 World Cup 2024 match. The Durham cricketer also indicated that he considers polarising statement of Josh Hazlewood as one that shows respect.
Hazlewood told a press conference following the victory of Australia over Namibia that the elimination of England from the competition was in their best interests. Pat Cummins quickly took care of the situation by suggesting the phrase as a prank.
What Mark Wood Said
Wood spoke to reporters saying that the Australian seamer’s statement shows how good England has been against their arch-rivals and has no problem with it.
He spoke to ESPNcricinfo saying,
“I think actually I saw it more as a respect thing, if I’m honest, that he was saying that England have done well against Australia in the recent past and thinks we’re a big threat and a big team, so I have no problem with it. I know I’m close to the Scottish border [coming from Durham] and Australia and Scotland are England’s rivals… but we’ll obviously be supporting Australia because we’re trying to get through.”
The defending champions England got a huge victory against Oman, first with the ball then the bat. This win significantly improved their NRR from -1.80 to +3.08, leaving Scotland’s 2.16 behind.
Mark Wood on Australia
The 34-year-old Mark Wood claiming three wickets against Oman, is optimistic that Australia will play aggressively against Scotland and win.
Mark Wood added,
“We have got to show a little bit more and then fingers crossed for Australia. Then when you are through to that next stage every team can go on from there. I’m absolutely confident they’ll play the game their hardest, that’s the Australian way. They’ll play hard and fair and try to get the win.”
Australia is the one and only team from Group B to have reached the Super 8s winning three matches.
Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2024 : Mark Wood Says England Will Have No Excuses