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Wellor a few hours, as night fell late on the island of St. Lucia, you could feel it bubbling away. In the bars of the Caribbean, spreading among traveling tourists watching muted televisions. On the internet, slowly because most of the likely candidates were sleeping in England, but it was there among the late-night listeners and expats scattered across the time zones. Reflected in the St. Cross emoticon profile types. George in their display names, bristling at the only problem.
Beating Scotland Australia will knock England out of the T20 World Cup. Scotland didn’t have to be good enough to beat Australia. But Australia dropped six catches as Scotland reached 92 in the first nine overs.
Accusations have already begun to be heard, some joking, some not, that Australia are throwing this match away to send England off. The back half of Scotland’s innings slowed but they reached 180, one of the best totals of the tournament.
Then the odd tentative chase, more singles than big hits, regular loopholes. In the 14th over, when Australia needed 87 from 39 balls, the fever was at its peak. In bedsits across England, newspaper journalists who pay attention to cricket once a year when there is a chance to be angry, began to stir. Channeling Discontent by Jonny Bairstow idle wandering with the Lord a year ago, these two weeks, building it up in time to meet this latest imagined insult, the scene would have ended in an explosion of self-satisfaction.
And then Marcus Stoinis hit a couple of sixes and a couple of fours. Travis Head decided he was set enough to send Safian Sharif for three sixes in three balls. Tim David made sure the percentage didn’t drop. Australia plundered the runs with two balls to spare and it was a different Union Jack component that left the tournament in the first out. The accusations dissipated. The outrage that was ready to pour out had to be swallowed back up. Sales of antacids must have skyrocketed.
The idea that any current international team would lose a match on purpose is something easily said and almost impossible to do.
Even deciding to try would leave each player open to career-ending sports and criminal sanctions. There must be express agreement between the majority of XI members. This can only come from a conversation that will then have to be covered up. Australians know better than anyone that telling a true story to investigators is never a prelude to anything good.
When you’re looking for something specific, it’s easy to imagine seeing it. Foraging parties in the forest twirl their whips at every snapping twig. Human brains look at noise and find patterns. The world standard bearer would never drop six catches, would he? Except, say, in the one-day World Cup last year, when Australia dropped six runs against South Africa to lose a match that many wanted to win.
Clearly they have been recharging by resting Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood? Only if it weakens the team should we bring back the batsman in Mitchell Starc or use Nathan Ellis who has played three pool games out of four or pick Ashton Agar who opened the bowling and took a wicket within six balls. How about Glenn Maxwell, who was twice sent back after bowling an expensive over? On both returns he took wickets to slow down Scotland’s pace considerably. Missed tackles included Head rising in the air, Adam Zampa diving on a good foot, a split-second advantage to the keeper getting up and a bad day for Mitch Marsh, who almost broke a finger on one of his attempts.
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Bolstered by the Ashes last year, there is still a lot of nastiness from some sections of the supporters surrounding the Australia-England contest. There are tedious digs at the moral victory this and sandpaper that. There’s always been a rivalry, but the tone feels cheaper. However, not much is coming from the players themselves Bairstow still simmering like a paella for resentment, and Australia’s players didn’t help by appearing as glossy-grinning headshots in the promotional fevers of their latest The Jeff Bezos movie.
The willingness to ask for a fix after a few overs reflects something heavy. It makes a mockery of both the seriousness of Australia’s team and the ability of Scotland’s. The Associated Press, who almost pushed two of the three richest nations to the Super 8 stage, deserve to be recognized for what they have done, not pressed into service as a prop in the endless psychodrama between the other two. We can claim treason for sporting sins only if we first show good will.
In the final over, David hit an attempted six high to deep midwicket. Had Chris Soule held the catch, Australia would have needed three runs from three balls with Agar’s entry. He could have won the game with one hit. He might have had two aerial swings and ripped off a catch. Had it been the latter, Australia would have tried no less, staged a no less dramatic comeback and employed identical tactics. The effort would be exactly the same. The way the result would be interpreted would be the opposite.
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