England were unable to get the T20 World Cup title defence off to a winning start after their match against Scotland was abandoned due to rain.
The champions were not able to bat after Scotland set a score of 90 after 10 overs, although their score was changed to 109 due to the interruptions.
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Mark Wood looked to have got England off to a brilliant start after he saw George Munsey caught for 16, but the Scotsman was given a reprieve after the bowler was shown to have stepped over the white line.
The game was then stopped for over two hours as the heavens opened before Scotland came back out and hit 39 more runs in 3.4 overs, setting their total tally with the match shortened to 10 overs each.
Munsey ended on 41 and Michael Jones clocked 45 runs, a very respectable tally that may have proved to be a challenge for England.
But the crowd were unable to witness the holders’ response and the result adds more importance to their other group matches against Australia, Oman and Namibia.
England and Scotland share a point each in Barbados as the match has been abandoned due to rain ☔#T20WorldCup | #ENGvSCO | 📝: https://t.co/6WnHhHdJNR pic.twitter.com/FsYGIyUnWr
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) June 4, 2024
It is perhaps a bit of a let-off for England, who would have had to have batted superbly to catch their local rivals.
For Scotland, it was a bright start and proof that they can compete at the T20 World Cup this summer.
England captain Jos Buttler gave his thoughts after the match, saying:”We expected a tough challenge, there are no easy games, but we were confident coming into the game.
“It’s a disappointment for everyone. There were a couple of balls here and there we’d want to tighten up on, but we scrapped hard and we were confident of chasing that score down.
“No-ball wickets are always disappointing, but these things happen. We just wanted to have a full game, but that’s the situation we find ourselves in.
“Hopefully we get a dry day and we can get into the tournament.”
Thriller on the cards 🔥
Excellent batting from the Scotland openers powers them to 90/0 in their 10 overs against England in Barbados 👏#T20WorldCup | #ENGvSCO | 📝: https://t.co/og1YYB3X0y pic.twitter.com/LNdQraLXTw
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) June 4, 2024
England’s next match is against Australia on Saturday and a loss could put their progress into the next rounds in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, Scotland face Namibia on Thursday and captain Richie Berrington is taking plenty of positives into the match.
He added: “Everyone’s frustrated, but some positives to take at least.
“The guys in the middle did a really good job and we can take things from that. We gave ourselves a chance there.
“It would have been interesting to see how the weather affected the pitch because it did look like uneven bounce.
“If we had bowled and fielded well, we had an opportunity there. The openers are a really good combination up the top.
“George Munsey has slightly different skills and it was good to see him bring them out today.”
