ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Group B Teams Preview with Cricket Giants & Squads: World cricket’s two most recent champions and three ardent allies are in Group B of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Men’s T20 World Cup defending champions England and winners of the 2021 edition Australia are in Group B along with Namibia, Oman and Scotland. Only the top two teams will advance to the Super 8 stage of the event.
While all eyes will be on the big names of Australia and England, Namibia, Oman and Scotland have enough potential to make the group results interesting.
Australia
Despite their team not reaching the last four stage of their home T20 World Cup in 2022, Australia are one of the favourites in this edition.
The talented team has a history of performing well in ICC events, and the current squad includes several players who have recently found success in the ICC.
Australia’s key players to watch
Travis Head has been Australia’s star performer in recent ICC tournaments, as evidenced by his impressive performances during the ICC World Test Championship Final and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup semi-final and final.
Having won two ICC titles for Australia since June 2023, Head will be looking to make it a hat-trick for the men’s team with his dynamic performances on the field.
His performances also include his stellar run in the IPL, where he has scored over 500 runs at a strike rate of just under 200.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024: Australia Squads
Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Schedule
| Date | Match | Location | Time (Local) |
| Wednesday, 5 June 2024 | Australia vs Oman | Barbados | 08:30 PM |
| Saturday, 8 June 2024 | Australia vs England | Barbados | 01:00 PM |
| Tuesday, 11 June 2024 | Australia vs Namibia | Antigua | 08:30 PM |
| Saturday, 15 June 2024 | Australia vs Scotland | St. Lucia | 08:30 PM |
England
The defending World Cup champions England will once again rely on the same aggressive playing style that has served them well in the limited-overs format.
The return of England’s premier pacer Jofra Archer ahead of the tournament is a huge plus point for the side as they have covered all the important bases.
England’s key player to watch
Although not involved in the final stages of England’s successful 2022 campaign, Mark Wood left his mark on the tournament with his propensity to trouble opposition batsmen.
Wood’s blistering pace serves a dual purpose, helping to extract extra pace off the wicket while also blurring a batsman’s shot-making ability by reducing the time available for shot selection.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024: England Squads
Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood
Schedule:
| Date | Match | Location | Time |
| Tuesday, 4 June 2024 | England vs Scotland | Barbados | 10:30 AM Local |
| Saturday, 8 June 2024 | England vs Australia | Barbados | 01:00 PM Local |
| Thursday, 13 June 2024 | England vs Oman | Antigua | 03:00 PM Local |
| Saturday, 15 June 2024 | England vs Namibia | Antigua | 01:00 PM Local |
Namibia
Namibia qualified for the T20 World Cup on the back of an impressive performance in the Africa Regional Qualifier stage. They remained undefeated in the tournament, registering wins over six teams, including co-qualifiers Uganda and Test-playing Zimbabwe.
Success over Test nations is nothing new for the Eagles, who stunned Sri Lanka in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup, and they will be looking to repeat the same feat in the upcoming event.
Namibia’s key player to watch
Since making his international comeback with Namibia, David Wiese has been living the dream. The 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup will be his third consecutive tournament this decade, and the all-rounder will be eager to play in all departments on the field.
His aggressive tactics with the willow and clever combination of cutters and slower balls have served the Eagles well and the robust all-rounder will look to light up Group B with his performances.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024: Namibia Squads
Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Michael Van Lingen, Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni, Niko Davin, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, JP Kotze, David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Malan Kruger, PD Blignaut
Schedule:
| Date | Match | Location | Time (Local) |
| Sunday, 2 June 2024 | Namibia vs Oman | Barbados | 08:30 PM |
| Thursday, 6 June 2024 | Namibia vs Scotland | Barbados | 03:00 PM |
| Tuesday, 11 June 2024 | Namibia vs Australia | Antigua | 08:30 PM |
| Saturday, 15 June 2024 | Namibia vs England | Antigua | 01:00 PM |
Scotland
Richie Berrington’s Scotland squad has a number of players who have considerable experience of global T20 cricket and they will be looking to put that knowledge to good use in their group matches in the West Indies.
Scotland have a proud cricketing history, including beating neighbouring rivals England in ODI cricket in 2018. Their encounter in Barbados on June 4 will be their first in the T20I format and Berrington’s side will be delighted if they can pull off a similar result to effectively launch their campaign.
Scotland’s key players to watch
Left-arm spinner Mark Watt has been Scotland’s best bowler for some time now. The bowler uses the crease well, varies his delivery point according to the batsman and match situation, and fluctuates his speed to confuse opponents.
His spinning darter has performed well against famous opponents, including against Sri Lanka and the West Indies in last year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.
Schedule:
| Date | Match | Location | Time |
| Tuesday, 4 June | Scotland vs England | Barbados | 10:30 AM |
| Thursday, 6 June | Scotland vs Namibia | Barbados | 03:00 PM |
| Sun, 9 June | Scotland vs Oman | Antigua | 01:00 PM |
| Saturday, 15 June | Scotland vs Australia | St. Lucia | 08:30 PM |
Oman
The only Asian team in the group, Oman, have a good mix of tournament experience in their ranks. This will be their third appearance at the T20 World Cup, and the team will be looking to make a mark with a good performance.
Their first encounter against Namibia on June 2, a team they have beaten twice before, could set the tone for their tournament.
Oman key players to watch
Captain Aqib Ilyas, a solid top-order batsman and a fine spinner, will be crucial to Oman’s hopes in the T20 World Cup. He may have been appointed as the new captain, but the presence of former skipper Zeeshan Maqsood in the squad means the all-rounder will have plenty of support on the field.
Aqib’s stats have improved during his captaincy tenure, with the batsman scoring at an average of 42.5 at a strike-rate of 158.38 in his seven matches.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024: Oman Squads
Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Rafiullah, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmad, Khalid Kail. Reserves: Jatinder Singh, Samay Shrivastava, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra
Schedule:
| Date | Match | Location | Time (Local) |
| Sunday, 2 June 2024 | Oman vs Namibia | Barbados | 08:30 PM |
| Wednesday, 5 June 2024 | Oman vs Australia | Barbados | 08:30 PM |
| Sunday, 9 June 2024 | Oman vs Scotland | Antigua | 01:00 PM |
| Thursday, 13 June 2024 | Oman vs England | Antigua | 03:00 PM |
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