Tim Paine asks Australia to commit match-fixing to knock out England; tells players to leave the World Cup

Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine has stirred controversy by suggesting that the Mitchell Marsh-led Australian cricket team should tactically manage their final Group B match against Scotland to ensure England's elimination from the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

England, the defending champions, are in a tough spot in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 after a washed-out match and a massive defeat against Australia. With Australia already qualified for the Super Eight stage, Paine wants the 2021 T20 World Cup winners to manipulate the outcome of their last Group B match against Scotland on June 16.

Tim Paine urges Australia to tactically manage T20 World Cup 2024 match against Scotland to knock out England

Notably, the England cricket team is currently standing in the fourth spot in the Group B points table with only one point and a negative net run rate (NRR) of -1.8. Despite having two matches left, even victories in both cannot overtake the second-ranked Scotland's five-point tally, and even their NRR (+2.164) is also a lot better.

To advance further in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, England must not only win their remaining matches with big margins but also rely on Australia handing a massive defeat to Scotland, damaging their NRR, so that the defending champions can make it to the Super 8s.

However, Paine clarified that his suggestion doesn't mean Australia suffers defeat against Scotland but rather ensures the match remains close, thereby knocking England out of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.

The former Australian skipper proposed scenarios where Australia could win but limit the margin, allowing Scotland to maintain a competitive NRR to make it to the Super 8s. He has jokingly suggested Australia send their key players on holiday for the Scotland game.

Tim Paine was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo, "When you want to be playing in a World Cup, you want to win its tournament play. Now, what Australia should do is send their players on holiday for that last game against Scotland, put George Bailey, Andrew McDonald, and Brad Hodge back out there, and let Scotland win.

Just a bit of Mel Gibson action maybe with the Braveheart and the Aussies. England are a fantastic white ball team if they get it together. If we have control of not having them in there, then, well, see you later."

Earlier Paine said on Sen Radio: “Absolutely they should (manipulate the result) and I'm not even joking. I've spoken to people about this in the last few days. I'm dead serious. I'm not sure what the net run rate looks like, you don't have to lose the game, I think they can just let Scotland get close enough. Again, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, Scotland could have a day out.”

But say Scotland batted first and got to 140 and we chased it off 19.5 overs to make sure they don't suffer a big net run rate loss. I think England have to win both of their games by about 50 runs to even get up towards Scotland's net run rate. So, it's certainly plausible that you can win the game (but still ensure England don't progress).”

You just have to manipulate the net run rates a little bit: Tim Paine

Meanwhile, Paine has described a potential strategy for Australia's final group game against Scotland as a "smart, calculated" move, which could benefit the Kangaroos in the later stages of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.

The former wicketkeeper batter stressed that his suggestion is not solely due to England being the opponent but is based on strategic planning to enhance Australia's chances of winning the coveted title for the second time.

Paine acknowledged England's poor start in the tournament but stressed that they can bounce back and defend their T20 World Cup title. He noted that England remains one of the top teams, despite their early setbacks, and still poses a significant threat in the knockout stages.

He said that if Australia could eliminate such a formidable opponent without intentionally losing by just managing the net run rates, they could avoid a potential semifinal clash with England, which has several match-winners.

Paine signed off by saying, “You're manipulating the net run rates a little bit... you can say whatever you want to say, but to me, it is smart calculated, tournament play. We're there to win a World Cup. I wouldn't want to play England in the semifinal. They've got six or seven guys that could take a game away from you, much like Australia do. If you can have a side like that not go through to the next phase, it makes the World Cup easier for you to win.”