Scotland hoping to defy odds in T20 series with Australia
Scotland are confident they can cause an upset in their three-match T20 series against Australia, which kicks off in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
The pair recently clashed at the T20 World Cup, where the associate nation gave the world No.2 an almighty scare.
“We can definitely take inspiration from that game in St Lucia,” Scottish bowler Mark Watt said earlier this week.
“We all believe we should have won that game and kicked on further in the World Cup.
“We have a little bit of a point to prove.
“We can say we got close, but actually in the back of our heads we’re disappointed that we didn’t win.”
Scotland got themselves into a winning position against Australia in June, with the men in yellow requiring 87 runs off 39 balls after they posted 180/5 batting first.
It took an innings of 59 off 29 from Marcus Stoinis to rescue Australia, snatching the match with two balls to go.
Odds against Scotland despite home advantage
Despite Scotland’s confidence, cricket betting sites have them set at long odds to have any success at all against Australia.
Bookmaker Bet365 has Scotland at $21 to win the series, with Australia paying $1.015.
Their odds are slightly stronger to take the opening match, with a return of $11 for a Scottish win in Edinburgh.
“The first game is really important — if we can win that, it’ll set up the next two matches,” Scotland coach Doug Watson said on the eve of the game.
“The goal for us is to win this series.
“They’re wanting to put in some huge performances and compete, and really push this Australia team.”
Scotland have been on the rise in recent years, having famously beaten England six years ago in Edinburgh.
However, there is a frustration as well that opportunities against top-tier teams do not come regularly.
“It is frustrating we don’t get the opportunities to play the big boys, so to speak,” Scottish batsman Michael Leask said.
“We would love them to come and play us more often but we understand sometimes it is not feasible.
“This is our opportunity.
“We punch above our weight a lot of the time and that is down to the quality of the group we’ve got.”
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