Gros Islet (St Lucia): Australia's ODI and Test captain Pat Cummins asserted that his compatriot Josh Hazlewood's remarks were not serious and they would have never tried to manipulate their net run rate to knock arch-rivals England out of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, which would have been "against the Spirit of Cricket".
After the game against Namibia, Hazlewood made a sensational statement, sparking a controversy saying that Aussies would try to eliminate England from the tournament if there was such an opportunity for them in their upcoming Group B match against Scotland.
Speaking to the media, Cummins stated, "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. We haven't really thought too deeply because it's (NRR manipulation) never really popped up."
The right-arm pacer Cummins revealed that he had a chat with Hazlewood about the latter's comments, and said the thought about NRR never really figured in anybody's thought process.
"I was speaking to Joshy, who had a bit of a joke about it the other day, and I think it (his comments) got taken a little bit out of context. 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 (NRR) 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," Cummins mentioned.
"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," he added.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain himself has faced criticism after being involved in the last Ashes run-out controversy as wicket-keeper Alex Carey's stumping off Jonny Bairstow paved the way for heated debates. However, the scenario of the 2021 champions manipulating their NRR no longer exists after England's record fastest-ever T20I win over Oman on Friday at Antigua.
The Jos Buttler-led side chased down a 47-run target in just 3.1 overs, registering the fastest win of the T20 World Cup history. The victory boosted England's NRR to 3.08, well ahead of Scotland's 2.16. If England manages to go past Namibia on Saturday, and Australia beat Scotland, then the Three Lions can enter the Super Eight. However, if Scotland (5 points) beat Australia, then England (3 points) will have to pack their bags.
Seasoned pacer Mitchell Starc, who didn't take the part due to a sore calf in the match against Oman, will be available for the selection match against Namibia. But the 31-year-old said the management is yet to take any call towards the rotation of players.
"I haven't spoken to the selectors, so I don't know what they're thinking. But I wouldn't be surprised. I know going into the start of the tournament, in a perfect world, we'd get a game into just about all the squad members," he noted.
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