T20 World Cup: Australia not looking to lose against Scotland, says Cummins

Pat Cummins stated that Australia are not looking to lose against Scotland in their last group match of the T20 World Cup 2024 to eliminate England from the tournament.

Cummins, who led Australia to ODI World Cup 2023 glory in India, stated that playing with any mindset other than winning is “against” the spirit of cricket.

"I think when you go out and play you are trying your best every time and if you are not, that's probably against the spirit of cricket," Cummins said.

He also brought up what Josh Hazlewood said about knocking England out as it would be in the best interests of Australia and said that his words were taken out of context.

"Haven't really thought too deeply because it's never really popped up. I was speaking to Joshy (Hazlewood), who had a bit of a joke about it the other day, and think it got taken a little bit out of context,” Cummins added.

“We'll go there and just try and play Scotland, who have had a really good tournament so far and will be tough. It's [net run rate] something you kind of discuss as one of the quirks of the set-up, but in terms of does it change the way we play, absolutely not.”

He also added that he has never played cricket with the mindset of losing a match.

"I've never stepped into the field without the mindset of trying to take the game on and be aggressive like the guys have so far,” Cummins said.

Against Oman, England chased down the 48-run target in just 3.1 overs after bowling the opposition for just 47.

England now have three points after three games. Their first match against Scotland was washed out due to rain before their loss against Australia in the second game.

To qualify for the Super 8 stage, England not only need to win their remaining match against Namibia but also hope Scotland lose to Australia.

Both teams would be tied on five points. In that case, the NRR will be of utmost importance.