SCO vs AUS 2024, SCOT vs AUS 2nd T20I Match Report, 6th September 2024

Australia 196 for 4 (Inglis 103, Green 36, Currie 3-37) defeated Scotland 126 (McMullen 59, Stoinis 4-23, Green 2-16) by 70 runs

In conditions where every other batsman on both sides struggled to time his overs, Josh Inglis struck the ball with remarkable fluency on his way to the fastest T20I hundred by an Australian batsman. He reached the milestone in 43 balls, breaking the previous record – held by himself, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell – by four balls, and finished with 103 off 49.

To put the innings into context, the rest of Australia’s top six scored 89 off 73 balls. His innings laid the foundation for Australia’s 70-run win over Scotland, and also helped them take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Sent off, Australia set Scotland 197 to equalise after their crushing defeat in Wednesday’s series opener. The hosts had their moments in the chase, notably during Brandon McMullen’s 42-ball 59, but were never able to keep up with the required rate. On an occasionally two-run pitch that offered some seam movement, the Australian seamers used their height advantage expertly, bowling hard on lengths and extracting every ounce of assist they could find.

The Scots scored runs occasionally – George Munsey smashed Xavier Bartlett for two sixes down the leg side in the first over, and McMullen used his legs to keep out the fast bowlers and scored four sixes, the best of which was a front-foot hit over wide by Aaron Hardie – but Australia continued to score regular runs by throwing the ball around the pitch and causing errors.

When Sean Abbott employed this modus operandi to end McMullen’s onslaught in the 13th over, the contest was all but over. From there, the end was swift, with Scotland losing their last six wickets for just 20 runs and being bowled out for 126 in 16.4 overs.

Take away Inglis, and Australia haven’t fared much better with the bat. Jake Fraser-McGurk, who made a duck on T20I debut on Wednesday, started the format with a four off the first ball. But he struggled with the middle delivery – and often missed – as his methods of aiming at the stands proved ill-suited to the conditions, particularly against McMullen’s biting medium pace of the new ball.

He fell for 16 runs-a-ball and Travis Head, who bowled Scotland on 80 off 25 in the first T20I, was run out for a first-ball duck, bowled by a peach-coloured inducer from left-arm quick Brad Currie. Currie was one of five players in the Scotland XI not to play on Wednesday.

Three of the newcomers were bowlers, and the revamped attack continued to make the Australian batsmen not named Inglis work hard for their points. Cameron Green slogged his way to 36 off 29, while Marcus Stoinis finished with an unbeaten 20 off 20. They eventually exacted revenge with the ball, taking a total of 6 off 39 in 5.4 overs.

Inglis, however, seemed to be batting on a different pitch, against a different attack. While his teammates seemed to be out of options if they were denied the space to move freely, Inglis kept finding the boundary with his quick feet and quick hands. He manipulated the field masterfully with his movement around the boundary and his use of the scoop and reverse scoop. When the Scottish bowlers tried to tie him down by playing short and into his body, he generated incredible speed with his short-arm whips and pulls.

Yet Australia had only reached 179 when Chris Sole ended Inglis’ innings in the 19th over. Sole, only introduced in the 11th over and bowling for only three overs, was arguably Scotland’s best bowler on the day, quicker than his colleagues and consequently more influential when employing changes of pace.

Australia eventually moved closer to 200 thanks to a performance from Tim David who, in the last over bowled by Brad Wheal, sent the first two balls for sixes, the second of which flew well beyond the boundary and landed outside the pitch.