Group B of the T20 World Cup 2024 is where the last two winners of the tournament have been housed and with rivalries and some big players on show it is a section of the event which is likely to get a lot of attention.
It is where England will begin the defence of their title and with their rivals Australia among the other teams in the we are almost guaranteed to see plenty of competitive cricket over the course of this group.
The Teams
Australia are looking to emulate England and have a hold of the 20 over and 50 over competitions having won the latter in India at the back end of last year. Australia won this tournament in 2021 but disappointed in their title defence on home soil. They were also the finalists when this event was last in this part of the world so they will feel that they have everything they need to challenge. Travis Head and Mitchell Starc were key players in the recent Indian Premier League series and if they go well Australia surely will.
England are the defending champions both in terms of holding onto the title and having won the competition the last time it was held in the Caribbean so they will be confident. They will be motivated by knowing that they stunk the place out when defending the 50 over title at the end of last year. Jos Buttler remains one of the best white ball batters in the world and with Jofra Archer back there is enough to think England will go well.
Namibia were one of the surprise packages at the last T20 World Cup and they will be looking to find the formula which allows them to be competitive again this time around. With two giant nations in their group it is clear that the Africans will need to cause a major upset if they are going to make it out of the group but if David Wiese can come off at the right time and the likes of JJ Smit and Gerhard Erasmus can deliver too then Namibia would have a chance.
Oman will be competing at the T20 World Cup for the third time in their history and will be looking to put up their best showing yet. They are the fourth lowest ranked team in the tournament so clearly have a bit to find but they might be able to make their way through the competition on the surprise factor. Newly appointed skipper Aqib Ilyas and key bowler Bilal Khan will need to go well for the Asians to have any chance.
Scotland are the other team in the group and they are another who performed with credit in the last tournament in Australia. There are question marks over whether they are any stronger 18 months or so down the line but they have the chance to show that they are. They will need to see off one of England or Australia to make it through which won’t be easy but they will give themselves a chance if the likes of George Munsey or Mark Watt have big tournaments.
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Group Betting
I respect Namibia and Scotland but I find it hard to believe that England and Australia won’t qualify from this section unless the rain gets involved in it. That can’t completely be ruled out but those two look a mile clear of the other three, although Scotland will hope to catch England cold in their opening match. The prices for the big two to qualify are pretty short as you would expect so unless you want to bet on the group winner there isn’t really a lot to go at here.
The problem with betting on the group winner is that there isn’t actually any incentive to win the group because if the big two do come first and second they are already seeded into their Super Eight group regardless of the order that they finish in which isn’t helpful. I am tempted to back England as the outsiders of the two because I don’t think they are that far behind Australia but with weather in play I’m happy to leave it alone.
Team Betting
I like a couple of bets over the course of the five teams in this group where the 10/1 on JJ Smit to be the leading Namibia run scorer could be a little on the big side. He is probably going to drop down to bat at either four or five in the early stages of the event but could easily rise should things go wrong for Namibia at the top of the order. In his last 13 innings in this format of the game internationally he has reached 24 or more on six occasions and has a 50 in that time as well. He tends to finish the innings well and with Scotland, England and Oman looking for death bowlers that might be significant. You have to respect the likes of Gerhard Erasmus and David Wiese in particular but the price is too big for Smit.
The other bet that I like is for Bilal Khan to be the leading bowler for Oman. When it comes to bowling in this tournament you either want a mystery spinner or a bowler who bowls at the beginning of the innings and at the end of it and Khan fits the latter profile perfectly so he is going to get any cheap wickets which are doing the rounds. You wouldn’t expect Oman to take many wickets against England or Australia so the majority of the wickets will come against the two weaker sides so we’re not going to need an ocean of scalps for this to land. I would have him much nearer the even money mark for this market so the 13/8 feels a big price.
Tips
Back J.Smit Top Namibia Tournament Batter for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with Coral
Back B.Khan Top Oman Tournament Bowler for a 3/10 stake at 2.63 with Sky Bet
