Australia continue their warm-up series for the three T20 matches against England when they take on Scotland for the third and final time in Edinburgh on Saturday to round off what has been good preparation for the tourists.
Scotland have given the first two matches a good go without any success so they are playing just to avoid a whitewash here. Australia will want to cross the border to take on England with a third win under their belts so we should get another good game of cricket.
Scotland
I think the overriding aim for Scotland in this series would have been to show that they can be competitive with teams as good as Australia and while the results wouldn’t suggest that in isolation, there has been occasions where they have played good cricket, they just haven’t been able to play it for long enough, neither have they been able to really capitalise on those moments in the game. They have another chance not only to show that they can handle Australia but also to show that they deserve more matches against the bigger nations.
The problem in this series was always going to be the bowling for Scotland. There were times where it looked cannon fodder in the recent World Cup and on a small ground with a good batting track it has inevitably struggled. That has left the batting feeling the pressure and while that department is generally their strength, they are going out to bat thinking that they need 40 or so more runs to par to give their bowlers a chance and they predictably haven’t been able to cope with that pressure. With no competitive pressure on this match now you’d like to see their best batters come to the party and entertain what should be a decent crowd on a Saturday.
Australia
I don’t think there were ever fears that Australia wouldn’t win this series or dominate it like they have. This was always just an exercise in getting some competitive time in the middle in conditions similar to what they will encounter in England for the remainder of the month and then in an ideal world on top of that for their key performers to have big impacts which would give them confidence heading into the England series. With that in mind, you’d have to say this has been a good series for them with one more match to get even more out of it.
I think it is fair to say that the Australia batting unit were expected to dominate the series and they haven’t disappointed in that regard. They will be eyeing up one more brutal showing before they head to England. The Australia bowlers have gone as well as expected too and this feels like an opportunity for them to try all of their variations and make sure that they are in decent working order heading to England. The primary task here though is to avoid picking up any more injuries, preferably while winning the match at the same time. We can expect a few changes to the side as well.
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Team News
Michael Jones looked like he damaged his shoulder in the previous game so there doesn’t feel like there is much point in risking him for this match and alienating relations with his county side. Ollie Hairs could return having played the first match but not the second.
We are yet to see Cooper Connolly for Australia in this series but it wouldn’t make much sense for them to bring him all this way and then not playing him in what is essentially a dead rubber. Aaron Hardie could be the one given a rest for his Perth Scorchers teammate.
Betting
Scotland have batted fairly well in this series and so I’m a little surprised that their sixes line for this match is as low as 4.5. While they haven’t won either of the matches so far, they have bashed six sixes in each game and I don’t really see why they would fail to cover this line because if anything you would imagine they will play a weaker Australian bowling attack here because surely anyone they want to use for the ODIs against England may as well be rested here.
That could mean that Adam Zampa sits this one out and Australia utilise the part time options of Travis Head and Tim David for spin instead. Scotland have a solid enough top five and with the matches being played on good batting wickets there is no reason why the top order with no competitive pressure on them can’t launch another five sixes. This isn’t a big ground by any means and if Australia do rest some bowlers Scotland should bat no worse than they have in the first two games. I’ll play the over here.
Tips
Back Scotland – Over 4.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with Betway
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