Defending T20 champions England washed out after Scotland scare

Bridgetown: Scotland openers George Munsey and Michael Jones gave England a fright in their T20 World Cup opener in Barbados on Tuesday before rain spared the defending champions a potentially tough chase.

Scotland, in their first T20 against their border rivals, were bidding to match their shock success when they last met England -- a six-run one-day international win in Edinburgh back in 2018.

England, meanwhile, were desperate to improve on a woeful defence of their 50-over global title in India last year, where Jos Buttler's men lost six of their nine matches.

But after Scotland captain Richie Berrington won the toss on Tuesday, they failed to create one clear and legitimate wicket-taking chance.

Munsey (41 not out off 31 balls) and Jones (45 not out off 30) batted superbly to take Scotland to 90-0 in a rain-interrupted innings of 10 overs at the Kensington Oval.

Because Scotland's innings suffered a lengthy delay on 51-0 off 6.2 overs, it meant England were left with a revised target of 109 in 10 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

But a fresh downpour led the umpires to abandon the Group B match before England, on a ground where they won the 2010 T20 World Cup final, could begin their reply.

Both England and Scotland received a point each.

"We expected a tough challenge, there are no easy games, but we were confident coming into the game," said England captain Buttler.

"It's disappointment for everyone... We scrapped hard and we were confident of chasing that score down."

Earlier, left-hander Munsey, on 16, top top-edged a hook off Mark Wood high to wicketkeeper Buttler, only to be reprieved by the fast bowler's no-ball.

"No-ball wickets are always disappointing, but these things happen," said Buttler, who led England to 2022 T20 World Cup glory in Australia.

"Hopefully we get a dry day and we can get into the tournament," he added, with England due back at the Kensington Oval on Saturday to face arch-rivals Australia.

Scotland won the toss and elected to bat first against England on Tuesday.

It is the sixth match of the ICC T20 World Cup which is being played at the Bridgetown stadium. The both sides are much excited to lock horns.

England's captain, Jos Buttler, mentioned that he would have preferred to bowl first regardless of the toss. He expressed his enthusiasm about Jofra Archer's return from injury, which will significantly bolster their bowling attack.

Archer will be joined by Mark Wood, who has been picked over Reece Topley to add extra pace to the team's lineup.

Squads:

Scotland: 1 George Munsey, 2 Michael Jones, 3 Brandon McMullen, 4 Richie Berrington (capt), 5 Matt Cross (wk), 6 Michael Leask, 7 Chris Greaves, 8 Mark Watt, 9 Brad Wheal, 10 Chris Sole, 11 Brad Currie

England: 1 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 2 Phil Salt, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Adil Rashid

-- Additional input from AFP