New Delhi, Jan 5 (IANS): Scotland captain Richie Berrington said his team is really excited about playing defending champions England and 2021 T20 World Cup winners Australia in the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

All of Scotland’s Group B matches will take place in the Caribbean, starting with their opening match of the tournament in what will be their first-ever men’s T20I meeting against England on June 4 at Kensington Oval in Barbados, almost six years to the day after famously beating their neighbours in an unforgettable 50-over encounter in Edinburgh.

They will then face Namibia on June 6 in Barbados and Oman on June 9 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, before playing their last group match against recently-crowned ODI World Cup champions Australia on June 15 at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia.

“It’s a great draw for us to play, in England and Australia, two of the best teams in the world, so as a squad we are really excited about that. It’s a great opportunity for us, especially at the World Cup as well. Namibia and Oman are two excellent sides as well, which we’ve had great battles with over the years, so I’m sure it will be a really exciting group.”

“As we know with these tournaments, if you have a good day anything is possible. As a squad, we want to keep building on the success we’ve had, particularly in T20 cricket, so this is another great opportunity for us to do this on the world stage.”

“The game against England in 2018 was a special day for everyone involved, and I think for everyone in Scottish cricket. It was one of the best atmospheres I’ve been involved in during my career with Scotland, to have the crowd behind us like that at home.”

“It’ll be an exciting game for us first up in the group, and hopefully we’ll get a few people travelling out to the Caribbean to support us as well, so it should be a great occasion against the defending champions. To play Australia at the 2015 World Cup in their own backyard was a memorable occasion.”

“I remember that game quite well in Hobart. Unfortunately, we didn’t have our best day, but it was a great experience to come up against such a strong Australian team which obviously went on to win that World Cup. It’s just going to be such an exciting fixture and a really good challenge for us,” said Berrington in a release issued by Cricket Scotland.

Scotland will be competing at their sixth ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and their third tournament participation in succession. In 2021 they succeeded in qualifying for the Super 12 stage in the UAE and Oman, while in 2022 they memorably defeated West Indies in the group stage at Hobart, though they failed to make it to the Super 12 stage.

As of now, Scotland are currently searching for a head coach. Doug Watson held the role on an interim basis after taking Scotland to the top spot and qualifying for the Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Regional Qualifier but narrowly missed out on a place at the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup.

“On the whole, it’s been a positive year for us as a squad, with a lot to take away from it. Winning the Cricket World Cup League 2, and playing in Nepal, was really special; it’s a great place to go on tour and to lift the trophy there with Shane (Burger, former Men’s Head Coach) as he finished off his time with us was terrific.”

“The guys took a lot of belief from that campaign which was spread across more than three years, and that took us nicely into the two World Cup qualifying campaigns. The 50-over World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe was a great experience, with a couple of big wins there against Zimbabwe and West Indies, but it was obviously hugely disappointing not to get over the line in the last game which would have taken us to the World Cup.”

“I think for me, one of the highlights of the year was the way the team bounced back from that disappointment very quickly, heading into the T20 Qualifier. To go and win that here in Scotland as tournament hosts was very special, and something that we can look to build on and take a lot of confidence in moving forward into 2024,” added Berrington.

As compared to 16 teams in the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup, 20 teams will be divided into four groups of five each for the first round. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Eight stage. In Super Eight, teams will be split into two groups of four each.

Teams seeded first and second in their groups in the first round will retain that seeding in the Super Eight, provided they qualify. A1, B2, C1 and D2 finishers will be in one group, while A2, B1, C2 and D1 will be slotted in the other group. The top two sides from two groups of the Super Eight will advance to the semifinals.

The semifinals will be played on June 26 and 27 in Guyana and Trinidad respectively, before the final in Barbados on June 29. This will be the first World Cup event to be hosted by the USA while this will be the second time West Indies will be hosting the Men's T20 World Cup after doing so last time in 2010.