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Following his side's five-wicket win over Scotland in their ICC T20 World Cup match, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc expressed disappointment with his side's fielding efforts and lauded all-rounder Marcus Stoinis for his match-winning knock.
Half-centuries from Travis Head and Marcus Stoinis helped Australia end the group stage unbeaten and defeated Scotland by five wickets in their ICC T20 World Cup match at Saint Lucia on Sunday. Speaking about his team's fielding, which saw them drop some catches and if it had to do with the fact that it was a low-pressure game for their team already in Super Eights, Starc said during the post-match press conference, "We were just terrible. It was about trying different options for us, but still trying to be very competitive with the ball and with bat. We certainly dropped the mark in the field... It did not feel different. It is still a World Cup game, you are still playing for Australia and you still try to take wickets and win games." Speaking about the form of Stoinis, Starc said, "You would have to ask him (if Stoinis is in his best ever form). He has hit it nicely. He is obviously been in some form through the IPL and he is pretty comfortable in his approach. So that is great for us and certainly for the way he is going about his cricket too." "He got us going in the first game against Oman, against United, his ball striking in his second half of the innings was phenomenal. So, he is in great touch which is good for us heading into the pointy end," he added. Starc said that the wicket was really great and despite Australia needing 107 runs in the final 10 overs, the run rate never felt out of hand. He also said that it was nice that some middle-order batters got some game time and some spinners also got enough time in different conditions and situations ahead of the Super Eights. Speaking on his calf after a cramp in the opening game against Oman, Starc said that he is completely fit and the cramp hung around for the game against England and he was rested during the game against Namibia in order to give him some break ahead of Super Eights stage. Starc also lauded Scotland for playing some fine cricket throughout the tournament and finishing third in their group with two wins, a loss and no result, narrowly missing out on a top-two finish and Super Eight entry to England on the basis of net-run-rate. "Yeah, they've been playing some good cricket. I think they're certainly in the fixture against England and it would have been interesting to see them finish that game. They were right in the mix to obviously get through to the Super 8s and push this tonight. So certainly not our best effort in the field but credit to them, they had a couple of good partnerships there and put a pretty good score on the board. I think as I said we probably structured that batting innings pretty well. I think there was a couple of hiccups there but with Stoin (Stoinis) and Heady (Head) there they put a nice partnership together and did it pretty easy in the end I thought," he said. Coming to the match, Australia put Scotland to bowl first. After losing Michael Jones early, George Munsey (35 in 23 balls, with two fours and three sixes) and Brandon McMullen (60 in 34 balls, with two fours and six sixes) put a quickfire 89-run partnership to put Scotland back in the game. A fine knock from skipper Richie Berrington (42* in 30 balls, with a four and two sixes) took Scotland to 180/5 in 20 overs. Glenn Maxwell (2/44) was the pick of the bowlers for Australia. Ashton Agar, Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa got a wicket each. In the run-chase of 181 runs, Australia lost some early wickets and were 60/3 at one point. Then, a 80-run partnership between Travis Head (68 in 49 balls, with five fours and four sixes) and Marcus Stoinis (59 in 29 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) took Australia to the brink of a win and Tim David (24* in 14 balls, with two fours and a six) applied some fine finishing to get the win with two balls left. Mark Watt (2/34) was the pick of the bowlers for Scotland. With this win, Australia tops Group B with four wins in four games and eight points. Scotland failed to qualify for the Super Eights, finishing third with two wins, a loss and a no result, giving them five points. Defending champions England have walked into the Super Eights with this big assistance from their arch-rivals, as they also have the same win-loss record and points as Scotland, just the higher net-run-rate. Stoinis took home the 'Player of the Match' award. (ANI)
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