Josh Hazlewood acknowledged it would be in Australia's "best interest" if England were eliminated from the T20 World Cup group stage. (Full Coverage|More Cricket News)
The reigning champions have made a stuttering start to their title defence, losing to the Australians after their opening match against Scotland was rained off
Josh Hazlewood acknowledged it would be in Australia's "best interest" if England were eliminated from the T20 World Cup group stage. (Full Coverage|More Cricket News)
The reigning champions have made a stuttering start to their title defence, losing to the Australians after their opening match against Scotland was rained off.
Jos Buttler's side must now beat Oman and Namibia in their remaining Group B games - while significantly boosting their net run-rate - to stand any chance of advancing to the Super 8s.
However, England would be knocked out on Sunday if Scotland were to beat Australia, who have already qualified for the next phase after winning each of their first three matches.
A narrow Australian win could also dethrone the defending champions, whose elimination Hazlewood admitted would boost his nation's chances of landing a second T20 World Cup crown.
"In this tournament, you potentially come up against England at some stage again, and they're probably one of the top few teams on their day," the fast bowler said.
"We've had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket, so if we can get them out of the tournament, that's in our best interest, as well as probably everyone else's."
"There are a few options there, but to take confidence from winning and winning well, I think that's almost more important than potentially trying to knock someone else out.
"They've still got a lot to do on their behalf as well, so I think it'll become clearer the closer we get to that sort of stuff."