'That's in our best interest' - Josh Hazlewood contemplates on prospect of knocking England out of T20 World Cup 2024

What could be more advantageous than not only achieving success for oneself but also implicitly undertaking actions that could directly impact a subject with whom one does not resonate? This precisely encapsulates the situation Australia finds themselves in, as they reign supreme atop Group B in the T20 World Cup 2024, presenting an opportune moment to potentially thwart their arch-rivals, England, from progressing through to the Super Eight stage.

The curtain-raiser of England and Scotland's respective campaigns saw only 10 overs being bowled due to the intervention of the rain gods over Barbados, leading to them sharing the spoils. However, England suffered a resounding 36-run defeat against their primary adversaries, Australia. Meanwhile, Scotland's victories over Namibia and Oman only resulted in placing significant pressure on England, tightening the screws on their chances of progression.

Even if England were to emerge victorious in their remaining matches, they might still face the prospect of being ousted from advancement, which would be courtesy of Australia ensuring they win by as bare a margin against Scotland in their final game of the group-stage.

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Following Australia's resounding victory over Namibia, effortlessly achieving the 73-run target in a mere 5.4 overs, Australian pace bowler Josh Hazlewood addressed the matter during the post-match press conference, hinting at the possibility of transforming a theoretical hypothesis into a factual realization. He acknowledged that England have been among the few teams presenting formidable challenges to them, particularly in T20Is, emphasizing that it would be advantageous for Australia and other teams alike to eliminate them from the tournament.

"In this tournament, you potentially come up against England at some stage again and they're probably one of the top few teams on their day, and we've had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket, so if we can get them out of the tournament, that's in our best interest as well as probably everyone else's. We've never really been in this position before as a team, I don't think, so whether we have discussions or not, we'll just try and play it again the way we did tonight," stated Hazlewood during the post-match press conference.

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The two-time champions, renowned for their high standards in the white-ball format established over the years, now face the unsettling possibility of being ejected out from their second consecutive ICC event during the group-stages. This potential outcome follows their dismal performance in the 50-over World Cup held in India last year, which starkly contrasted with their historically illustrious track record.