"Absolutely they should and I’m not even joking" - Tim Paine believes Australia must do everything in their power to knock England out of 2024 T20 WC

Former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine strongly feels that Mitchell Marsh and company should seriously explore the possibility of hampering England's chances of progressing into the Super 8 stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Australia hold their rivals' fate in their hands ahead of the business end of the group stage of the tournament.

Australia have already sealed their progress after notching three wins on the trot. Scotland are currently placed on five points while England have one point to their name, with two matches against Oman and Namibia coming up. Should Jos Buttler's team win the aforementioned matches and Scotland lose to Australia, it would bring the net run rate into play as they will both be level at five points.

Although the numbers could change depending on how the matches turn out, Australia can help Scotland's chances by securing a win by as little margin as possible.

Aussie pacer Josh Hazlewood admitted that eliminating England will be a help to all, but the ICC Code of Conduct prevents any team from manipulating the result of any contest. If Australia are found guilty of doing something of the sort, skipper Mitchell Marsh faces a ban and a fine.

"Absolutely they should and I’m not even joking. I’m dead serious. You don’t have to lose the game, just let Scotland get close enough. And that’s not just because it’s England. I think you’ve got to go into these tournaments, trying to win a World Cup, and who could certainly pose a threat in the latter rounds? England," Pain said in SEN Radio.

“There’s no doubt they are still one of the best teams in the world. They’ve got off to a horrible start and now it’s in our hands. So if you can knock out one of the most highly fancied teams in the tournament and do it in a way that’s not too bad, or you’re not going to be losing a game, then I’m all for it," Paine added.

Australia's clash against Scotland is scheduled in St.Lucia on Saturday, June 15. The Men in Yellow can at least explore the possibility of resting some of their key players for the contest.

"If we can get them out of the tournament that's in our best interest as well as probably everyone else" - Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood

As mentioned earlier, Hazlewood had outlined the defending champions' threat and noted how it would benefit the other sides in the Super 8 if England fail to qualify.

"In this tournament you potentially come up against England at some stage again. They're probably one of the top few teams on their day and 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," Hazlewood said after Australia's win over Namibia.

England's matches against Oman and Namibia are scheduled to take place in Antigua on Thursday, June 13, and Saturday, June 15, respectively.