2024 T20 World Cup

by Duty281 Wed 22 May 2024, 12:04 pm

Just over a week away now from some glorious six-hitting in the cricketing heartlands of Barbados, Trinidad, Saint Lucia and, um, New York City.

England are defending the crown they won at the MCG in front of 80,000 people in November 2022. They'll probably be hoping it goes a bit better than their defence of the 50 over title! The tournament is, as T20 competitions are, very wide open. If England were to win it again they'd be the first men's team to win back to back World T20 titles in the history of the competition.

Chasing them keenly are the bookmakers favourites India, who are very, very thirsty because of a drought that has existed since 2013 in ICC tournaments. Australia will obviously be there or thereabouts, and there's plenty of excitement around the West Indies, twice winners of this competition, and how glorious it would be to see them lift a trophy at home.

Or perhaps South Africa will finally stop being Tottenham and actually win something? But it's T20. So it could be anyone. Ireland, Scotland, Uganda....USA?

I thought the format of the last couple of T20 World Cups was absolutely perfect. Naturally, then, the ICC have altered it for this year! So we've now got 20 teams, up from 16, and 55 matches in total, up from 45.

There's no preliminary round this time. All teams start off the same. Four groups of five teams. All play each other once. Top two in each group go through to the Super 8s. Super 8s is split into two groups of four. No points are carried over and all teams play each other once in the Super 8s. Top two in each Super 8 group go through to the semi-finals, from which it's a straight knockout. Means a team will play nine games if they are to lift the trophy, in comparison to England's seven games to win it in 2022.

One curious thing about the format, and the ICC love curious things (such as there being no reserve day for one semi-final), is that the finishing places in the initial group are seeded. For example, England are designated B1 in their group, and Australia are B2, which means that it's irrelevant if England come first or second. They will go through to Group 2 of the Super 8s regardless of finishing first or second. I suppose it guarantees certainty for fans, as they know where teams are playing after the initial group stage.

While I don't think it's been directly said, the draw was not a fair and open one. It took place behind closed doors and ensured India/Pakistan were in the same group, as well as some other long-standing rivalries, such as USA v Canada. I'm surprised the ICC didn't put India and Pakistan in the same Super 8 group as well! The groups are:

Groups:

The fixture list is all over the place with timings, so try and keep up! If you're in the UK, games can start at 01:30, or they might begin at 18:00, and quite a few matches seem to overlap in the early stages.

Fixture List (All times BST):

Squads (Not yet finalised):

Outright Odds (Bet365):

The USA and Canada will be starting this one off in Texas. That's the most unlikely cricket sentence ever uttered.

by guildfordbat Wed 22 May 2024, 1:29 pm

Duty - a masterclass from you there. Many thanks. thumbsup

by VTR Wed 22 May 2024, 1:44 pm

I think I just about followed that, what a crazy format, even by the standards of the ICC! Think I'll be limited here to seeing how England do then take interest from the semi finals regardless. Really don't have the mental energy to try and follow in detail all the various groups

by guildfordbat Wed 22 May 2024, 9:06 pm

VTR wrote:I think I just about followed that, what a crazy format, even by the standards of the ICC! Think I'll be limited here to seeing how England do then take interest from the semi finals regardless. Really don't have the mental energy to try and follow in detail all the various groups

What else are you doing at 1:30 in the morning of Monday 3rd June when Namibia play Oman?

by Duty281 Mon 27 May 2024, 10:37 am

West Indies have warmed up very nicely for the competition, with a 3-0 series win over South Africa, although Jason Holder is out of the tournament due to injury.

by guildfordbat Wed 29 May 2024, 9:19 am

Just giving this thread a bump as some newbie has unnecessarily and unhelpfully set up a new thread.

kush - you should look at what is already here before setting up something new.

by Duty281 Wed 29 May 2024, 11:11 am

Think he's just a bot. Like the Warsaw Dental Centre in the announcements page.

by Duty281 Fri 31 May 2024, 11:20 pm

Predictions/overview/general scribbling.

Spoiler:

TLDR: West Indies to win the tournament, beating England in the final. Australia and India the other semi-finalists. NZ and Sri Lanka not to make it past the first group. Bonus. Most runs = Phil Salt. Most wickets = Rashid Khan.

Remember, these are 100% guaranteed predictions (until they're not). You might as well not watch this tournament now. It’s in a spoiler tag for a reason.

by alfie Sat 01 Jun 2024, 8:20 am

Have to admire the efforts you have made to set up this tournament for us , Duty thumbsup

Bold predictions. I see you are sticking with your established habits in writing off NZ Smile

Who knows , with t20 ? But I think it rather more likely that all the seeded teams make it though the initial groups without too much difficulty (rendering a lot of early games fairly meaningless if it happens) Will thus save me from having to wake up at 3 am too often.

Then again , England could get knocked over by Scotland I suppose...

by VTR Sat 01 Jun 2024, 9:23 am

Does someone hit 4 sixes in a row to win it for the Windies? Then do they build a commentary career from talking about it?

by Duty281 Sat 01 Jun 2024, 12:32 pm

alfie wrote:Have to admire the efforts you have made to set up this tournament for us , Duty

Bold predictions. I see you are sticking with your established habits in writing off NZ

Who knows , with t20 ? But I think it rather more likely that all the seeded teams make it though the initial groups without too much difficulty (rendering a lot of early games fairly meaningless if it happens) Will thus save me from having to wake up at 3 am too often.

Then again , England could get knocked over by Scotland I suppose...

I think we'll get a fair few upsets with it being T20. Group A and B should be fairly safe for India/Pakistan/Australia/England, but Group C has three teams with a realistic chance of qualifying and Group D has four. Who actually wins the tournament is like drawing a raffle number.

Wasn't aware I keep writing off NZ, to be honest!

by alfie Sun 02 Jun 2024, 6:42 am

Haha " Writing off" the Kiwis might be a bit strong ... but without actually looking back , I seem to recall you have tended to rather downplay their chances in previous WCs. Probably fair to say they generally perform quite consistently - and almost always above or at least in line with their "seeding".

As you say , t20 lends itself to upsets. Agree groups A and B look the most straightforward (so will probably contain the upsets !). But I will be surprised if Afghanistan can upset NZ or the co-hosts in Group C. Group D seems the least predictable , with both Bangladesh and Netherlands some sort of chance to upset Sri Lanka or SA on a day.

Still seems a lot of games to weed out the minnows but if it all brings fans into US grounds and gives the TV crowd stuff to show - and of course giving "minor" teams their moment in the sun , then all good thumbsup

by Duty281 Sun 02 Jun 2024, 10:36 am

Well a winning start for the USA, as expected, but they had to work hard for it after Canada put up 194/5 batting first. It was a comfortable enough chase, with Aaron Jones striking 94 off 40.

Tiny boundaries and 21 sixes in the contest is an omen of what's to come, I think. That'll lower the skill gap still further, meaning upsets should be more likely.

by VTR Sun 02 Jun 2024, 11:45 am

Sounds awful to be honest, but then you are hardly going to get the US audience excited by lauding the economy rates as a team defends 120 on a slow pitch

by guildfordbat Sun 02 Jun 2024, 12:49 pm

Not sure if this is totally random but I'll throw it in here for want of anywhere else and in case it is potentially significant and has a bearing on the World Cup.

Of the 18 T20 games I've cast an eye on since Thursday to now - that's all 16 Vitality Blast games this season plus England's final warm up game against Pakistan and the WC opener in the early hours between USA and Canada - the team winning the toss has elected to field 15 times.

The team batting second has won 14 times and lost only 3 with the remaining game still in play. Of the 3 wins by the side batting first, only once did that team win the toss and choose to do so.

So if you win the toss, you field and you win. Well, I wouldn't go that far at all but it certainly seems the current preference and maybe determines an otherwise tight result. Thoughts?

by Duty281 Sun 02 Jun 2024, 2:43 pm

VTR wrote:Sounds awful to be honest, but then you are hardly going to get the US audience excited by lauding the economy rates as a team defends 120 on a slow pitch

Yes, it is one of my concerns for the tournament. I mentioned it before, but I really liked the last T20 World Cup in Australia because the boundaries were quite big and there was generally a good contest between bat and ball.

Here, it looks like it's going to be small boundaries and a huge advantage for bat over ball. Expect to see quite a few 200+ scores, but hopefully it doesn't get to IPL 2024 levels.

by Duty281 Sun 02 Jun 2024, 3:22 pm

Anyway, probably won't be a 200+ score here as the West Indies put PNG into bat.

by guildfordbat Sun 02 Jun 2024, 5:27 pm

Duty281 wrote:Anyway, probably won't be a 200+ score here as the West Indies put PNG into bat.

PNG didn't help themselves too much in their dig. Until the final overs they appeared to lack belief and didn't push often enough for a second run.

Really liked Hossein though for the West Indies. Surprised he didn't bowl a full allocation.

by Duty281 Sun 02 Jun 2024, 5:29 pm

Respectable 136 from PNG, after a slow start. Half century from Sese Bau giving them that credibility. WI using an interesting combination of six bowlers, all bowling at least three overs each.

WI have lost Charles for a first baller, and they could have lost Pooran for a duck, if PNG had reviewed, but they didn't and they missed out on the chance. 8/1 instead of 8/2.

And then the rain came down. But should blow through quickly.

by guildfordbat Sun 02 Jun 2024, 5:32 pm

Duty281 wrote:Respectable 136 from PNG, after a slow start. Half century from Sese Bau giving them that credibility. WI using an interesting combination of six bowlers, all bowling at least three overs each.

WI have lost Charles for a first baller, and they could have lost Pooran for a duck, if PNG had reviewed, but they didn't and they missed out on the chance. 8/1 instead of 8/2.

And then the rain came down. But should blow through quickly.

Yep, PNG now not helping themselves when bowling and perhaps again lacking belief.

by king_carlos Sun 02 Jun 2024, 5:58 pm

I used to watch PNG a lot when I followed associate cricket more. Namibia and PNG were generally the interesting teams tactically. The lack of resources meant they needed to maximise what they had. Namibia dived head first into role definition and having individuals target very specific strengths. Whereas for PNG that involved astonishingly good fielding and a really smart use of a bowling depth. They played as a team about as much as I can remember a cricket team doing. A huge number of the team came from the same village and club. They were machine like. I'd not really seen anything like it from cricket given it's a sport with such a heavy individual element. Usually at associate level that's even more pronounced as the lesser depth means the brightest talents stand out more.

I haven't followed associate cricket as much since life got busy. I was amazed to see how familiar this PNG team is a few years on though. Only Kariko stands out to me as a newer player. I wouldn't be surprised if the average age of this XI is around or over 30. It sort of gives feelings of the last dance but for a smaller cricketing nation. Hopefully it goes better for them than England backing anyone over 30 who hadn't yet retired at the CWC.

by Duty281 Sun 02 Jun 2024, 6:43 pm

PNG in with a chance. WI need 40 off 24, but they're five down.

West Indies get the victory thanks to Chase and Russell's partnership, and it was comfortable enough in the end, but things were a little ropey at one stage. PNG have pushed them further than many would have thought.

by eirebilly_01 Mon 03 Jun 2024, 2:23 pm

I like the Sri Lankan bowling line up and they could cause some teams issues but their batting does not look as strong. I think that SA take this game fairly comfortably.

by king_carlos Mon 03 Jun 2024, 3:15 pm

The Proteas will be a danger for anyone. QdK, Hendricks and Markram should give them platforms. Then Klaasen's, Miller and Stubbs is insane power through the middle.

The bowling looks dangerous from a strike perspective but perhaps not the most reliable. I have a feeling some of the slower, lower Windies pitches will suit them better if they pick Maharaj and Shamsi in the same XI.

Nortje hasn't quite looked the same since injury, sadly. He was bowling Mark Wood paces with elite slower balls at one point. Which unsurprisingly put a lot of strain on the body. His back of the hand slower ball is basically a googly with the fastest arm speed you see from bowlers.

Baartman's domestic T20 stats are outrageous but have mostly come at a lower level. It will be interesting to see how he does a World T20.

by eirebilly_01 Mon 03 Jun 2024, 3:57 pm

king_carlos wrote:

Baartman's domestic T20 stats are outrageous but have mostly come at a lower level. It will be interesting to see how he does a World T20.

Has not started too badly has he Very Happy

by Duty281 Mon 03 Jun 2024, 4:09 pm

Tell Sri Lanka it's not a 50 over game! 32/2 after 8.1 overs.

by wisden Mon 03 Jun 2024, 4:39 pm

They're now 68-6 in the 15th over....however..

The pitch is a shocker for t20, if it was a test you would have a packed slip cordon and say it was a tricky wicket....the outfield is painfully slow, but....SL made a baffling decision at the toss to bat on a pitch no one has played on and a ground no one has played on...they should have bowled....however 80-90 will be a tough score to chase on this

by Duty281 Mon 03 Jun 2024, 5:02 pm

Interesting, I've only followed the coverage on Cricinfo.

77 all out. Ouch. Nortje was stung, by Carlos, into action with 4-0-7-4!

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Mon 03 Jun 2024, 5:16 pm

South Africa looking good to start off an ICC white ball competition, is it? I wonder how this story ends...

by Duty281 Mon 03 Jun 2024, 6:08 pm

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:South Africa looking good to start off an ICC white ball competition, is it? I wonder how this story ends...

A film we've all seen 100 times, but we just can't resist seeing it that once more...

by **Galted** Mon 03 Jun 2024, 6:19 pm

Duty281 wrote:
Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:South Africa looking good to start off an ICC white ball competition, is it? I wonder how this story ends...

A film we've all seen 100 times, but we just can't resist seeing it that once more...

I find these sequels and reboots fairly tedious, far preferred the original.

by Duty281 Mon 03 Jun 2024, 8:22 pm

wisden wrote:They're now 68-6 in the 15th over....however..

The pitch is a shocker for t20, if it was a test you would have a packed slip cordon and say it was a tricky wicket....the outfield is painfully slow, but....SL made a baffling decision at the toss to bat on a pitch no one has played on and a ground no one has played on...they should have bowled....however 80-90 will be a tough score to chase on this

Given it took South Africa 16.2 overs to chase 78, this assessment looks on the mark. Puts SL on the brink already, they probably need 3 wins from the remaining 3.

Next game in New York is between India and Ireland on Wednesday.

But before that, Afghanistan/Uganda in the small hours, and England v Scotland, plus Netherlands/Nepal, for tomorrow afternoon.

by eirebilly_01 Tue 04 Jun 2024, 7:05 am

I actually enjoyed that match yesterday. The pitch was poor but it was poor for both teams. Kind of added to the intrigue of the match for me. As expected, Sri Lanka have a very decent bowling line up but a weak batting line up so I do not see them going far. South Africa look a very balanced team but fragile at the same time.

by king_carlos Tue 04 Jun 2024, 8:42 am

Granted it was a bizarre pitch, but I didn't really get Sri Lanka's use of bowling options. Using their faster bowler, best bowler and a front line offie as your 4th, 5th and 6th options respectively when defending a low total. Surely you at least get Hasaranga and Pathirana on early?

I'm a big fan of Angelo Mathews now being a bowling all-rounder in T20s as a footnote to his already odd career.

by Duty281 Tue 04 Jun 2024, 8:55 am

Uganda were a bit outmatched. Afghanistan put up 186/5, although that was slightly underwhelming after being 156/0 after 15. Farooqi then tore Uganda apart with figures of 4-0-9-5, as the Afghans won by 125 runs.

Time for England this afternoon.

by guildfordbat Tue 04 Jun 2024, 9:48 am

Duty281 wrote:Uganda were a bit outmatched. Afghanistan put up 186/5, although that was slightly underwhelming after being 156/0 after 15. Farooqi then tore Uganda apart with figures of 4-0-9-5, as the Afghans won by 125 runs.

...

Wow! That's a very serious contender for best return of this World Cup.

by eirebilly_01 Tue 04 Jun 2024, 10:32 am

The Sri Lanka loss and the method of how they lost, opens the door for Nederlands in my opinion. They are not a bad side and could quite easily get into the super 8's and cause some shocks. That would please me greatly thumbsup

by guildfordbat Tue 04 Jun 2024, 10:34 am

Duty281 wrote:...

Time for England this afternoon.

I was fortunate enough to get a free ticket to see England beat Pakistan at the Oval last week. As already covered in the main by you guys, a lot to be encouraged by -
* Wood = sheesh! And Archer not far behind.
* Plenty of spin options with Rashid as canny as ever and leading the way.
* Some good support in the field. I knew about Jacks already but was particularly impressed by Salt (as flagged by Carlos on the England Summer thread) pulling off a couple of excellent boundary stops.
* Power hitting from all the top five.

However, before getting too carried away, have to keep in mind it's t20 where one or two things can happen quickly and be hard to pull back. Other possible concerns or issues -
* Pakistan were not the strongest opposition and folded badly after a fine start. We'll need to beat better organised teams than them to bring home the trophy.
* Not convinced by our later order batting but there again, I guess if you lose, say, 5 wickets early on, you're likely to lose anyway.
* Some good individuals in the field as mentioned above but also one or two weak links in that chain which might end up costing us. On a possibly anorak point, I thought we needed third man to be finer when our pacemen came back for their second spells. It made not a jot of difference on the night but a couple of balls going over the rope than for a single could be telling in the coming month.
* Connected to the previous point, how fit and available will all our bowlers be for each game? Do we play the same eleven today or select with Australia on Saturday in mind? I'm very much for playing the best team in the here and now but we'll see.

Anyway, looking forward to this afternoon. Bring it on.

by Duty281 Tue 04 Jun 2024, 11:42 am

Interesting stat from Cricinfo. England have played four European teams at T20 World Cups....and not won a single one, losing to the Dutch twice and Ireland once, plus the washout in 2010 against Ireland.

That washout actually saved England from probable elimination in a World Cup they went on to win. England made 120/9, and Ireland were 14/1 after 3.3 overs, before the heavens opened. Had England lost they would have been brown bread.

Will the terrible record change today?

by eirebilly_01 Tue 04 Jun 2024, 11:55 am

Very interesting stat Duty. Scotland are not a bad team either...

I am sure that England will make the Super 8's but I cant see them reaching the semi finals, just do not think they have a very balanced side.

by VTR Tue 04 Jun 2024, 1:02 pm

Duty281 wrote:Interesting stat from Cricinfo. England have played four European teams at T20 World Cups....and not won a single one, losing to the Dutch twice and Ireland once, plus the washout in 2010 against Ireland.

That washout actually saved England from probable elimination in a World Cup they went on to win. England made 120/9, and Ireland were 14/1 after 3.3 overs, before the heavens opened. Had England lost they would have been brown bread.

Will the terrible record change today?

Wright and Bopara actually had a partnership that wasn't terrible in one of those games, and we still lost!

by Duty281 Tue 04 Jun 2024, 1:20 pm

VTR wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Interesting stat from Cricinfo. England have played four European teams at T20 World Cups....and not won a single one, losing to the Dutch twice and Ireland once, plus the washout in 2010 against Ireland.

That washout actually saved England from probable elimination in a World Cup they went on to win. England made 120/9, and Ireland were 14/1 after 3.3 overs, before the heavens opened. Had England lost they would have been brown bread.

Will the terrible record change today?

Wright and Bopara actually had a partnership that wasn't terrible in one of those games, and we still lost!

They found their level in that game.

It was also Rashid's T20 debut.

by Duty281 Tue 04 Jun 2024, 3:10 pm

Scotland are batting first after winning the toss. Scotland the brave?

England have loaded up with Archer and Wood, not Topley, for this one.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Tue 04 Jun 2024, 3:19 pm

Do like the look of our XI - very strong top 5, some lower order biffers and plenty of pace and spin options. Maybe a little less athletic in the field than ideally you'd want, but still some top fielders there too.

Hope for a good start today

by Duty281 Tue 04 Jun 2024, 3:43 pm

30 minute delayed start, but should be no more rain afterwards.

Nice for England and Scotland to bring the weather over to Barbados. Very Happy

Things also really miserable over in Dallas at the moment, where the Netherlands and Nepal are set to start in just under 50 minutes. For now, the main cover is on, as are the floodlights.

by king_carlos Tue 04 Jun 2024, 4:06 pm

Apparently, the delay is now due to a wet spot on the pitch due to an issue with the covers. Right on a length, outside the RHs off stump. Village.

by Duty281 Tue 04 Jun 2024, 4:54 pm

England in a bit of trouble. Quite a shoddy start. Two misfields and Wood taking a wicket off a huge no ball, which is just unforgivable. Archer bowled a poor first over, but got it right in the second. Jordan bowled one over and his lengths were drastically wrong and punished, going for 15.

49/0 after the PowerPlay. Need Rashid to deliver in these middle overs.

by Marky Tue 04 Jun 2024, 4:58 pm

And now the rain is back. I can see England having a bit of a dodgy DLS run chase here.

by Duty281 Tue 04 Jun 2024, 5:20 pm

Was going to resume in a couple of minutes, but more rain (and lightning!) and so another delay. About 15 minutes until overs start being lost.

Nepal 17/2 after 3.5 overs in the other game. Their fans are making a great din.

by Duty281 Tue 04 Jun 2024, 6:27 pm

Just under 90 minutes before it gets called off. Rain seems pretty set in for now.

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