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Pre-match reading
In this tournament Scotland have already played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata (twice). England haven’t, but they do have Phil Salt, who called this place home when he played for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 – and won the IPL. Our man at the World Cup, Simon Burnton, has been talking to Salt, who has more to say about authenticity than you might expect.
The first email of the day is Valentine-themed. “I’m pretty sure I’ve shared this on the OBO before,” says Tom van der Gucht, “but with the smorgasbord of sport coinciding with Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d drop it in again – one of the most romantic sporting tunes of all time. The Grandstand Theme reimagined by the Brett Donino Trio as a rousing love ballad of hope, passion and commitment.”
Warning to anyone who’s feeling loved-up: there may be a hint of irony here.
Teams: both unchanged
Scotland 1 George Munsey, 2 Michael Jones, 3 Brandon McMullen, 4 Richie Berrington (capt), 5 Tom Bruce, 6 Michael Leask, 7 Matthew Cross (wkt), 8 Mark Watt, 9 Oliver Davidson, 10 Brad Wheal, 11 Brad Currie.
England 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wkt), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Tom Banton, 5 Harry Brook (capt), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Liam Dawson, 11 Adil Rashid.
Toss: England win and bowl
Harry Brook wins the toss and chooses to bowl first. “We fancy a chase,” he tells Nasser Hussain. Richie Berrington says he would have batted first anyway.
Preamble
Morning everyone and Happy Valentine’s! What could be more romantic than England and Scotland, that old pair of exes, bumping into each other in a World Cup? Well, one thing that would be even more romantic is if they were to meet in Kolkata on the very same day that they are also meeting in the Calcutta Cup. And lo, it is coming to pass. It’s so improbable, it’s practically a rom-com already.
For Scotland’s cricketers, who only got their invitation to this party at the last minute, there is, as always, a burning desire to beat the Sassenachs. For the England team, as in all walks of life at all times, there’s a burning desire not to be embarrassed.
Harry Brook and co. may get a little red in the face just looking at the table for their group. England are fourth out of five; Scotland are second, behind only West Indies. Both have two points – one win and one defeat apiece – but Scotland’s win was a thumping one over Italy, while England’s was a narrow squeak against Nepal.
The upshot is that Scotland’s net run rate is vastly superior to that of the so-called professionals from south of the border. And, for England, this game is beginning to resemble a banana skin, when it should have been a deep-fried Mars bar.
Play starts at 3pm in Kolkata, which is 9.30am in England and, by coincidence, Scotland too. The toss is at 9am GMT and seems unlikely to be delayed as the forecast is for a hot sunny day with a 0% chance of rain. Anybody know the Hindi for “hostage to fortune”?
