Cricket greats and central figures of last Aussie go-slow divided over merits of ploy against England

Tim Paine has urged Australia to manipulate England out of the World Cup, but a victim of Steve Waugh’s famous ‘99 go-slow has questioned whether it’s still a valid tactic.

Tim Paine has urged Australia to manipulate England out of the World Cup, but the man who lost most by Steve Waugh’s go-slow in 1999 believes a rule change has brought spirit of cricket considerations into play.

The dramatic equation playing out is that England must finish with a superior net run rate to Scotland to qualify for the Super Eights, but the Australians could have the final say given they play the Scots in the last game of the group.

Australian star Josh Hazlewood has conceded it would be in his team’s best interests for the defending champions to be eliminated at the group stage.

However, T20 captain Mitchell Marsh could theoretically risk losing part or all of his match fee against Scotland on Sunday morning AEST under the game’s Code of Conduct if the match referee was to determine that a deliberate ‘go-slow’ had taken place to impact net run rate.

This could prove virtually impossible to judge or quantify given the nuances of difficult pitches, stoic opposition and the fact the World Cup’s own rules takes away any incentive Australia might have for advancing its own net run rate against Scotland – because, inexplicably, they can’t carry their group stage dominance through with them to the Super Eights.

There is no crime against taking 19 overs to chase down 140 for example.

England's fate could be in the hands of Australia. Picture: Randy Brooks/AFP

Former Test captain Paine is adamant Australia don’t need to apologise for having a logical desire to see England – the defending champions and one of the biggest threats to the title – knocked out of the picture.

“Absolutely they should. And I’m not even joking,” Paine said on SEN Radio.

“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.

“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.”

A somewhat similar scenario played out in the 1999 ODI World Cup when Waugh deliberately manipulated the pace of his team’s ultimate defeat of the West Indies to ensure New Zealand – a bigger threat to them under the points system – were ousted from the competition.

New Zealand’s then coach, and former Australian Test wicketkeeper, Steve Rixon had absolutely no problem with Waugh’s tactics and said he would have done the same thing if in the reverse position.

Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine.

However, Rixon believes the Code of Conduct rule against negatively manipulating net run rate, which has only been introduced since 1999, does at least subtly change the scenario for this Australian team, who he believes – contrary to what England might think – have displayed a consistent spirit of cricket over recent years.

“As I said at the time (in 1999), I would have done the same thing if it meant that we get ourselves into the best position,” Rixon said.

“If it needed to be changed, the rule needed to be changed not the attitude of the captain and the players.

“But now, if there is a rule stated, I’d probably be now starting to look through a different set of glasses and suggest Spirit of Cricket would come into play.

“And to be fair the Aussies have been pretty good with that as well. Particularly under Pat. I think they’ve been pretty good with the Spirit of Cricket.

“I don’t think they take it to the enth degree, even though the Pommies might disagree with that.

“Once again, they (England) need to look in the mirror over that Bairstow dismissal.

“But I would view it a little bit differently if the law is in place. That rule wasn’t in place back in 1999.”

New Zealand coach Steve Rixon had no problem with Steve Waugh’s go-slow tactics at the ‘99 World Cup. Picture: Laurence Griffiths/ALLSPORT

Former Test star Damien Fleming, who was part of that ‘99 Australian team admits the code of conduct does soften his original view the Aussies would be foolish not to try and get England out of the tournament, as one of their main threats.

But Fleming said he would still be happy if Australia used a “subtle” manipulation of run rates against Scotland to make it difficult for England.

England must beat Oman and then Namibia in its final two group games by approximately 50 runs each to close in on Scotland’s net run rate.

If they can do that, then it comes down to what happens in Australia versus Scotland.

Hazlewood, who was speaking personally, not on behalf of the team, said that the simple fact is his team’s chances of winning the World Cup will improve if England is knocked out.

“Yeah I think so. In this tournament, you potentially come up against England at some stage again and as you said, they’re probably one of the top few teams on their day,” Hazlewood said.

“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.

“It’ll be interesting to see. (We’ve) never really been in this position before as a team I don’t think.

“Whether we have discussions or not, or we just try and play again the way we played tonight, that’ll be up to people, not me.”

Nothing would be sweeter for Australia than a premature England exit in the #T20WorldCup as Josh Hazlewood has declared it's in their best interests to try and manipulate their rivals' elimination.

FULL STORY ➡️ https://t.co/BFIQ9ynrkipic.twitter.com/TQKG5vuCyu

— CODE Cricket (@codecricketau) June 12, 2024

England’s Australian-born coach Matthew Mott said his focus was on Oman, but expressed a hope Hazlewood was not serious in his comments and was just trying to stir the Ashes pot.

“Knowing Josh has got a pretty dry sense of humour, I am hoping it was very much tongue in cheek,” Mott said.

“I actually don’t think (that scenario) is ever going to play out. Having grown up in Australia and (knowing) the will to win every game, I am sure they will come to the fore.

“I am very much hoping it was an offhand remark by a really good bloke who is having fun.”

When Steve Waugh reflected on his decision to drop anchor against the West Indies in 1999 and deliberately dabble the ball around for 20 overs before claiming the win, he was clear about his priorities.

“… I felt we owed it to each other to give ourselves the best chance of winning the tournament. This was one step along the way,” Waugh wrote in his autobiography.

“I knew I’d cop a blast at the post-match press conference and in the subsequent days, but I was steadfast, if not a little hot-headed, when I said, ‘We’re not here to win friends, just the World Cup.’”