Scotland v Australia second T20I: Head ready to shine again

Australia simply blew hosts Scotland away in the first game of their three-match T20I series and they will expect to wrap up a series victory when the tow sides meet again on Friday.

The opener at The Grange in Edinburgh - which stages the whole series - was a one-sided contest as the Saltires made 154-9 from their 20 overs, only for the Baggy Greens to knock the runs off before the halfway mark of their innings.

Opener Travis Head was the star of the show as he made the highest number of runs (73) inside the powerplay, reached his half-century in an Australian record-equalling 17 balls and eventually fell for 80, smashed off a mere 25 deliveries.

The Aussie batters enjoyed a streak of 14 consecutive boundaries as they were utterly ruthless against the Scotland attack and they are huge 1.04 fancies to win the second game on three.

. What: Scotland v Australia
. Where:  The Grange, Edinburgh, Scotland
. When: 23:00 (AEST), Friday 6th September
. How to watch: bet365 Sports Live Streaming, Kayo, Foxtel
. Odds: Scotland 13.00, Australia 1.04

Head causes chaos for Saltires attack

Left-hander Head has been in top form in T20I cricket for the whole of 2024, with his 11 innings yielding just one score in single figures, three half-centuries and a tally of 437 runs at a strike-rate of 172.72.

Quite how the Scotland bowlers will try to prevent Head from impressing again is a massive question and he is available at 3.75 to be Top Match Batter, while he is 1.72 to make 30+ runs.

Captain Mitchell Marsh clattered 39 from just 12 balls, while Josh Inglis finished unbeaten on 27 from 13 deliveries faced as the Aussies ran riot with the bat.

However, Jake Fraser-McGurk missed out on his T20I debut as he was dismissed for a three-ball duck and he will be eager to make amends on Friday, with the young right-hander 5.00 to be Team - Top Batter.

With the ball the Baggy Greens were solid if not spectacular, with Xavier Bartlett and Adam Zampa taking two wickets apiece, while Sean Abbott was slightly expensive as he claimed three wickets.

Abbott is 5.50 to be Team - Top Bowler again on Friday, while the ever-reliable leg-spinner Zampa is priced at 4.00.

Nathan Ellis sat out the series opener and will be hoping to be handed a chance to impress for the second match of three, with the pace of Abbott, Bartlett and Riley Meredith having troubled most of the home batters.

Ellis is 5.00 to be Team - Top Bowler should he be given the nod.

Hosts left to pick up the pieces

Scotland were clearly shell-shocked after being demolished inside 10 overs of the Australia innings and have much to ponder before the two sides meet again on Friday.

Their batting was the better part of their performance, although no player managed a higher score than the 28 of opener George Munsey, who cleared the ropes three times - a tally bettered in the match only by Head (5).

Munsey is 4.33 to be Team - Top Batter again on Friday, while he is 1.80 to score 20+runs, having failed to reach that mark in only three of his last 13 knocks in 20-over international cricket.

With the ball left-arm spinner Mark Watt was the lone Saltires bowler not to go to all parts, as he claimed the wickets of Head and Marsh and only went for 13 runs from his two overs, conceding just one boundary in the process.

The 28-year-ol Edinburgh native is 4.33 to be Team - Top Bowler on Friday, with Scotland huge 13.00 outsiders to turn things around and win the second match of three.