'His integrity...': England coach's BLUNT reply to Josh's 'manipulate' to knock out England remark

England coach Matthew Mott views Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood's remarks about potentially manipulating results in their upcoming match against Scotland to eliminate the Three Lions from the 2024 T20 World Cup as a humorous take. Hazlewood, speaking at a post-match press conference after Australia's game against Namibia on June 12, mentioned that his team is considering going easy in their match against Scotland on June 16. This strategy could result in England being knocked out of the race for the Super 8, with Scotland advancing as the second team from Group B.

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Matthew Mott identifies Josh Hazlewood's sense of humour

The Mitchell Marsh-led Australian team has already secured a spot in the Super 8 stage by defeating Namibia in their Group B encounter. Aware of the potential threat posed by their arch-rivals, England, should they meet again in the tournament, Australia is considering their options. Meanwhile, England finds themselves in a precarious position in Group B, having failed to secure a win in their two matches against Australia and Scotland, with the latter match being called off due to rain. Hazlewood's comments have stirred considerable controversy in the cricket world, leaving fans questioning whether Australia can actually follow through with this plan and whether such a move would be permissible under ICC rules.

"To be honest, I was informed of that this morning. Look to me, these things are out of our control and I think I know Josh pretty well and I know his integrity. I don't think that's a thing. He has got a very good sense of humour and hopefully that's what he was doing," Mott said.

"I think in all these tournaments you want to get your best side out there playing the best cricket and taking that momentum into the next game. So, yeah, I don't think it's a thing," Mott added.

Even if England wins their next two matches against Oman and Namibia, they still need Scotland to lose against Australia to advance to the Super 8 stage. Currently, Scotland has 5 points from 3 matches, with 2 victories to their name.