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Scotland are all set to host Australia in a three-match T20I series, beginning on Wednesday, September 4. The Grange Cricket Club in Edinburgh will host the first-ever multi-game bilateral series between both nations. The Australian side have only toured Scotland for one-off ODIs in 2009 and 2013, apart from their four meetings in World Cups.
Earlier this year, Australia and Scotland met in the group stage of the T20 World Cup. Batting first, the Scottish side posted a strong total of 180, riding on Brandon McMullen's 60-run knock. In response, Australia sealed the chase, courtesy of Marcus Stoinis (59).
Although, the Richie Berrington-led side were eliminated from the competition after the loss, they were praised by the cricket fraternity for their performances.
Ahead of this series, Scotland have been in impressive form with a three-game winning streak in ICC WCL 2 tournament. On that note, let's take a look at what are the three areas Scotland need to excel in to be a tough competitor for the Australian team.
#1 Dismiss the pair of Head-Fraser-McGurk early to evade Australia a good start
The key challenge for the Scottish bowling attack is to keep the opening pair of Travis Head and Jake Fraser-McGurk quiet. Given their explosive approach and form this year, the pair need to be dismissed as early as possible, otherwise they can inflict heavy damage on Scotland.
Head had a tremendous IPL 2024, where he slammed 567 runs at a strike rate of 191.55. He continued his blistering form by emerging as the third highest run-getter with 255 runs in T20 World Cup.
Although Fraser-McGurk had a disappointing Major League Cricket 2024 season, he impressed with his ball-striking capabilities in IPL 2024. The right-hander smashed 330 runs at an strike rate of 234.04, with a top score of 84.
Thus, the likes of Mark Watt, Michael Leask, and Safyaan Sharif need to be at their best to get rid of the duo to restrict Australia to a low score.
#2 George Munsey and Richie Berrington continuing their impressive form
George Munsey is the top run-getter for the Scottish side in the ICC WCL 2 tournament with 302 runs in six innings, with a top score of 111*. In T20 World Cup 2024, Munsey scored 124 runs in four innings, with a 35-run knock against Australia.
Given his experience of 82 T20s and fine form leading up to the series, the opening batter will play a key role to provide a good start to the side.
On the other hand, skipper Richie Berrington has been imperious with his form this year. He impressed with his 42*-run knock against Australia in T20 World Cup, and holds an average of 76 in ICC WCL 2 tournament with 228 runs.
The right-hander can be crucial to steer the Scotland side in the middle overs and provide a flourish in the slog overs.
#3 Playing with aggressive approach against inexperienced Australian pacers
The Australian side will be without their experienced trio - Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Instead of them, they will have the presence of talented yet inexperienced pacers in the form of Nathan Ellis, Xavier Bartlett, Sean Abbott and Riley Meredith.
Hence, it will be a good chance for the Scotland batters to claim dominance against the Australian bowling unit. They can employ an aggressive approach in the powerplay to accumulate as many runs as possible in pursuit of posting a big total on the board.
However, in the middle-overs, they will have to face the challenge of skilful Adam Zampa and the part-time of Marcus Stoinis, who could be a little difficult to deal with. So, the top-order batters like George Munsey and Brandon McMullen need to use the field restrictions wisely in their favor.
