Michael Jones says knocking out England in T20 World Cup would be 'stuff of dreams' for Scotland

Scotland batter Michael Jones has admitted it would be “the stuff of dreams” to help his nation through to the elite ‘Super Eight’ phase of the T20 World Cup.

Progression to the second stage of the tournament is in the Scots hands after a wash-out against England and then two strong performances in beating Namibia and Oman in the West Indies.

Jones and his teammates may not even require to defeat Australia in Saturday’s final group stage match in Antigua to make it through.

The 26-year-old, who plays for Durham in county cricket, said: “It is the stuff of dreams isn’t it? It was the goal before coming here and it would mean a lot to everyone.

“It would be another upset in the cricketing world but we really believe in the quality we have in our team.

“Although we definitely wouldn’t have been the bookies favourites to make the Super Eight, a little bit of luck and some good performances along the way and, who knows?”

Qualification will depend on England’s two results before the weekend with net run rate coming in to play.

If Scotland’s net run rate exceeds that of their southern neighbours then they may only need to run the Aussies close in order to knock out the reigning champions.

Jones said: “It is definitely an advantage to know the situation before going in. It allows us to realise what’s required and maybe not have to take as many risks depending on what that looks like.

“England are obviously a very high quality team and if they go out and win comfortably against Oman and Namibia then it may be the case that we have to put up a really, really close performance against Australia, or even win.

“But I think it will definitely be in our favour knowing the situation.”

The Australians are well aware that their own performance on Saturday will play a large part in whether England – their great sporting rivals – are sent home early.

Bowler Josh Hazlewood this week admitted that it would be in their interest for England to be eliminated, and suggested they could look to slow down their batting in order to help Scotland.

While the English camp is hoping that Hazlewood was speaking tongue-in-cheek, the Scots would be more than happy with that scenario.

Asked about Hazlewood’s remarks, Jones said: “I was watching it live and I was laughing!

“I don’t know any of the Australian players but it would be good if we could have a little word and sort something out!

“The rivalry between Australia and England is obviously massive and if they want to play that way then happy days.

“At the end of the day as a team we want the best result we can get but on a personal level you want to challenge yourself against the best.

“These are opportunities that we crave to see how you go against these guys.

“We believe we can put up a fight against them so I almost hope they do go full strength and we can show the cricketing world that we are up to the challenge.”