Australian captain Pat Cummins ruled out any possibility of his team underperforming against Scotland to strategically oust rivals England from the Twenty20 World Cup, emphasizing that such an approach would violate the "spirit of cricket."

This clarification comes in the wake of comments by fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, who stirred controversy earlier this week by suggesting it would benefit Australia if reigning champions England were eliminated from the competition. With Australia having already secured their place in the Super Eights, Hazlewood hinted they might ease up in their final Group B match against Scotland to facilitate England's exit.

However, after England's decisive eight-wicket victory over Oman on Thursday, which boosted their position above Scotland on net run rate, the scenario of strategic underperformance by Australia appears less relevant. England faces Namibia in their final group game.

England's coach Matt Mott, an Australian, expressed hope that Hazlewood's comments were made in jest. Confirming this, Cummins assured that Hazlewood's remarks were indeed a joke and taken out of context.

"When you go out and play, you're trying your best every time. And if you're not, it's probably against the spirit of cricket," Cummins stated to reporters in St Lucia. "I don't think you can go into a game not trying to win — ever. You're playing an international game in the middle of a World Cup."

Cummins underscored the importance of maintaining a competitive mindset: "You still want to try and have a good game and carry that on into the Super Eights. I've never stepped onto the field without the mindset of being aggressive, like the guys have so far."

He reiterated that Hazlewood's comments were intended to be humorous and acknowledged that they had been misconstrued. "We'll go out there and try to play Scotland, who have had a really good tournament so far, so it's going to be tough," he added. "It's something you discuss as one of the quirks of the set-up, but does it change the way we play? Absolutely not."

As Australia prepares to face Scotland, Cummins' assurance reinforces their commitment to the integrity of the game and their intent to perform at their best regardless of the broader tournament implications.