England could be victims of T20 World Cup match-fixing storm as Australia hint at using loophole to knock them out

ENGLAND are at risk of being dumped out of the T20 World Cup after Australia hinted at using a loophole to ensure their elimination.

Australia have booked their place in the next round after beating Oman, Namibia and England.

Josh Hazelwood admitted it would be in Australia’s interest to lose to Scotland

England could be eliminated even if Scotland lose to the AussiesGetty

Net run-rate could be needed to decide who qualifies if England and Scotland finish level on points

While England are fourth in Group B, two places and four points behind Scotland, who occupy the second qualification spot.

England’s solitary point came against Scotland after rain forced an abandonment after just ten overs.

Australia take on Scotland on June 15, knowing defeat would seal Scotland’s place in the next round and knock England out.

Scotland can even go through if they lose to the Aussies by a small margin, as they may finish with a higher net run-rate than England.

Australia are well aware of the power they hold over England’s fate, and bowler Josh Hazelwood admitted it would be in their best interest to lose the match.

Asked if Australia want to make it as difficult as possible for England to progress, Hazlewood said: “Yeah, I think so.

“In this tournament, we could come up against England at some stage and they’re one of the top few teams on their day.

“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 for everyone else.

How England could be dumped out of T20 World Cup

How can England qualify for the T20 World Cup Super Eights?

England will definitely be knocked out if…

They lose to either Oman or Namibia

Either match is washed out

Scotland beat Australia on Sunday

Scotland v Australia is washed out

If England win both matches and Scotland lose to Australia, it will come down to net run-rate…

Net run-rate is calculated by a team’s average runs-per-over scored in all group matches and then deducting runs-per-over conceded.

Scotland’s net run-rate is currently +2.164, while England’s is -1.80

It is complicated and depends on whether teams bat or bowl first and whether matches are high or low scoring.

But if England beat Oman and Namibia by a combined total of around 120 runs or win with a combined total of 12 overs to spare, they should better Scotland’s net run-rate.

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“It will be interesting to see. We’ve never really been in this position before. Whether we have discussions or not or just try to play the way we did against Namibia – that will be up to the management, not me.

“I’m not too sure what could happen – maybe get close to winning and then just knock it around and drag it out. There’s a few options but also you want to take confidence from winning and winning well.

“We still have one group game left but I guess we can ease off a little over the next few days and freshen up for the Super Eights.

“Selection is up to the coaches and the captain and the selectors. I’m keen to keep playing and work on a couple of things but potentially one or two might have a rest, particularly those who played in the IPL.

“England still have a lot to do so I think things will become clearer the closer we get to that sort of stuff.”

“Whether we have discussions or not or we just try and play again the way we did tonight, it will be up to other people not me.”

England must win their remaining matches against Oman and Namibia to stay in the competition – two opportunities to improve their own net run rate.

That would give them four more points to equal Scotland’s five, which means net run rate would decide who goes through if Scotland lose to Australia.

Captain Jos Buttler said of the challenge ahead: “I don’t think it’s s**t or bust quite yet.

“I think it’s quite clear what we need to do and how we need to play. First and foremost, we need to win the game against Oman to have any chance going forward into the next one.

“So we have to earn the right to try and win the game. And if we can get ourselves in a position to affect our net run-rate, obviously that’s what we need to do.”