2022 T20 World Cup thread

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

First topic message reminder :

We're now just over a fortnight out from the qualifying round, and team news is ever changing around the teams in the tournament.

Unfortunately today Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the tournament (and a while after) with a back injury. Big blow to India that one, and a World Cup with no Archer/Bumrah (arguably the two best t20 fast bowlers in the world) is a huge shame

[king_carlos]

Starc had a stinker in the final last year but that aside his rare T20 appearances have been decent. He was also expensive against England in the World T20 but that was when Jos went full Jos chasing a low total, Australia had to keep attacking to try to take wickets.

He's never played much T20 though as he has tended to forgo it in favour of more time at home and other interests. He frequently coaches the Australia women's seamers as it allows him to spend more time with Alysa Healy for instance.

In one day cricket Starc is one of the very best in both forms though IMO. He controls the white Kookaburra so well, swings it early and has one of the best yorkers in the game.

[Duty281]

Perhaps troubling signs for Ireland as they lost a warm-up game to Namibia. NZ hammered Pakistan to get revenge for a reverse result a few days ago. Looks like NZ/Pak will be the final of the tri-series, so they'll get to do it again on Friday.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Extremely excited to see how Suryakumar Yadav goes for India - first time he will ever have played in Australian conditions, but he's basically been the best t20 batter in the world in 2022, just an incredible array of shots and power. With Bumrah/Jadeja out, I think they need their bats to take over (a bit like England really) and he is poised to have a great tournament

[alfie]

Assuming this thread for game two England/Australia...

Narrow escape for Buttler in the second over...looked dead lbw viewed live and I think he hesitated to review ... But fortunately it was doing just too much and the skipper is reprieved. Might be important as he's started off pretty quickly again with 17 off 12.

Hales not had much strike yet...

[alfie]

Ah rats...Jos couldn't make much of his escape. Zampa did his best to drop that skied shot but somehow held on. 21/1.

Malan in his normal spot tonight.

[alfie]

Not a great start for England here...Hales falling to the first Stoinis delivery. Never got going tonight.

31/2 in the fifth over. Would be a good time for Stokes to play a t20 innings as this ground has a history of big scores.

[Duty281]

Interesting to note Stokes has never made a T20 half-century for his country.

T20 has never really been his format, so I'm somewhat surprised he retired from ODIs and not this.

[alfie]

Just 41 in the opening six overs. Malan has looked pretty good and started quicker than usual.
But Maxwell has got through an over now for just six runs which is another plus for Australia. Here's Zampa...

[Pal Joey]

Doesn't look too easy scoring runs out there. Some good controlled bowling, a few big hits from Jos and Malan early on but conditions are deceptively tricky. There are big inviting boundaries but so far Australia seem to be rolling out some sort of strategic bowling plan with the order of bowling.

The comms are right about the rain... we've had so much. Record rainfall actually. So I wouldn't call it proper 'Australian conditions'. Hopefully in a couple of weeks we'll get some sun but at the moment most people are a little down (generally speaking) about the spring weather. It's nowhere near spring like.

How's the weather looking in Melbourne, alfie? As 'cold' and wet as the rest of the east coast?

Maybe 150-160 runs will be a decent score.

[alfie]

Apart from Malan , this has been a pretty ropey batting display by England. Suppose it's a bit early to say this one is a dead loss but things aren't looking too good at the half way point. Could have been worse if Moeen had not been dropped off Stoinis - who is having a great night !

70/4 and will need a big last ten.

[alfie]

Hi PJ...

Weather here is pretty miserable at present. We had a few good days up to yesterday but it's hammered down from last night onwards and expecting a lot more in the next few days. Am hoping it relents for Saturday as it should be my first game for the season if we can get on the pitch...

Australia will be pleased that they've been getting good results here using a mix of bowlers... Finch has some options up his sleeve for the later overs.

That said , Malan seems to have mastered the conditions better than the rest and might fancy his chances of a big one here. I think they'll need more than 160 , especially as Wood isn't playing tonight.

[alfie]

Bit of a turnaround with this partnership , eh ? That Maxwell drop of Moeen looking as if it's been rather costly.

At 131/4 off 15 there is scope for a pretty handy score now. But batting might not be as tricky as it was looking earlier on ?

Perhaps the surprising thing is that Starc and Hazlweood have been the most expensive bowlers. Perhaps Maxwell should have been entrusted with a second over .

[alfie]

Zampa with a welcome wicket for Australia ...Moeen gone for a lively - if quite fortunate at times - 44 from 27.

Australia will be glad of that as he could have been very dangerous in these death overs.

147/5 with three to go...

[alfie]

That breakthrough by Zampa proving vital...Curran wasn't really able to keep up the tempo and is now gone ... Good comeback from the Aussie pacemen now slightly marred by Malan thumping Starc into the stands...

One over left ...165/6 Stoinis has been good tonight ...can he finish ?

[alfie]

Stoinis did well until the last ball...that six by Jordan saw it to 178. Not as many as looked likely before Moeen got out ; but a lot more than you'd have expected when they were four down at half way.

Quality knock by Malan for 82

Is that enough ? I think Australia will fancy the chase this time. Might be quite interesting though.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Not able to watch, only seen the scorecard - but today is the exact scenario where keeping the order the same (ie. Malan at 3) is ideal, as he can come in during the powerplay and take advantage of the field being up, while getting himself in.

Also seems in this reply that Sam Curran is bowling well again?

[alfie]

Missed the last forty minutes or so. But looks as if Australia were cruising until just then when Marsh fell to a fine outfield catch by Curran.

Bit open now as they need 51 off five ...and five wickets down. If England can contain them , I reckon it will be down to superior fielding today.

David seems well set so he could well take Australia home...

[alfie]

Eleven off that Topley over so forty nine off four now. England need wickets - if these two stay in , they're getting them.

Jordan has been expensive but they're bringing him in now ... Questionable ?

[alfie]

I miscalculated earlier ...always needed a few more. Jordan gamble didn't work as he went for fifteen ; but Curran has cleaned up David so it's down to Wade again now...

34 off fifteen balls ?

[Oakdene]

Sam Curran has been very very good. 3 wickets from 3 overs with only 12 runs conceded.

[alfie]

Some fine death bowling from Curran and Topley leaves Wade needing to conjure 22 from the last over...

Curran having a great night with 3/12 off his first three... But he's gone for a six off the first ball now !

Four balls to get 14...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Curran is really giving the selectors something to think about with his bowling - especially now being used as a death option and doing a good job!

[alfie]

...and couldn't do that. Sam Curran not failing at the end and England win by 8 runs

I do think fielding was the main difference tonight ; but Curran four overs 3/25 was huge. He is in my preferred XI for the WC , though I know not everyone agrees.

[dummy_half]

A rarity - a competitive T20 international where you genuinely didn't know who was going to sin until a couple of balls from the end. One of the ideas of having such a short format was that there would be more close games and exciting finishes, yet it really doesn't seen to work that way - too may wickets lost early on usually kills the contest, as there isn't time to really rebuild like you can in a 50 over game.

[king_carlos]

Curran is really giving the selectors something to think about with his bowling - especially now being used as a death option and doing a good job!

Yep. I rate Surran higher than some as a T20 player. I think his combination of lower order hitting, left-arm angle and PP bowling should be very useful. I honestly wouldn't have thought of him as a death bowler or a go to 4 overs a match bowler but he's impressed two games on the bounce to be fair.

Interesting that they snuck Stokes in first thing as well. There was a phase in T20 where sides would try to use part time finger spinners first up in the hope they could sneak an over or two in before batters teed off. Maybe England are thinking similar with Stokes?

[alfie]

Curran is really giving the selectors something to think about with his bowling - especially now being used as a death option and doing a good job!

Yep. I rate Surran higher than some as a T20 player. I think his combination of lower order hitting, left-arm angle and PP bowling should be very useful. I honestly wouldn't have thought of him as a death bowler or a go to 4 overs a match bowler but he's impressed two games on the bounce to be fair.

Interesting that they snuck Stokes in first thing as well. There was a phase in T20 where sides would try to use part time finger spinners first up in the hope they could sneak an over or two in before batters teed off. Maybe England are thinking similar with Stokes?

Reckon there is a fair bit of experimentation going on in these warm ups - and the Stokes opening over seems part of that. Although the fact that neither Woakes nor Wood were playing must also have come into it.

On the "sneaking overs in" theme : it is looking more and more as if Moeen is being considered just as a batsman these days. Which is a worry when combined with Rashid's recent lack of success : if the pace men don't do the job , where do they go ?

At least the batting is looking less dependant on one or two players. Now if Stokes can just get his batting mojo back...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Curran is really giving the selectors something to think about with his bowling - especially now being used as a death option and doing a good job!

Yep. I rate Surran higher than some as a T20 player. I think his combination of lower order hitting, left-arm angle and PP bowling should be very useful. I honestly wouldn't have thought of him as a death bowler or a go to 4 overs a match bowler but he's impressed two games on the bounce to be fair.

Interesting that they snuck Stokes in first thing as well. There was a phase in T20 where sides would try to use part time finger spinners first up in the hope they could sneak an over or two in before batters teed off. Maybe England are thinking similar with Stokes?

Reckon there is a fair bit of experimentation going on in these warm ups - and the Stokes opening over seems part of that. Although the fact that neither Woakes nor Wood were playing must also have come into it.

On the "sneaking overs in" theme : it is looking more and more as if Moeen is being considered just as a batsman these days.  Which is a worry when combined with Rashid's recent lack of success : if the pace men don't do the job , where do they go ?  

At least the batting is looking less dependant on one or two players. Now if Stokes can just get his batting mojo back...

Definitely some experimenting going on - last year before the WC, we had Rashid bowling multiple powerplay overs on that India tour, then he didn't in the real thing. To be honest with t20s, there isn't a set formula really anyways!

Definitely think Moeen is more of a bat who bowls the odd over in t20s (not in ODIs imo). He's basically one of, if not the best hitter of spin in t20 cricket, so more than earns his place as a bat alone imo - I suspect they'll only bowl him for specific games, or if things are going badly? Not such an issue in Aus if Rashid is the only spin option (albeit I guess Livingstone might be around too) imo, with the ability to use the longer/bigger grounds for the seam bowlers (thinking slower balls into the wicket and bouncers, you can use deep square boundaries and it's tough to clear - as we saw last night).

[alfie]

Aussies keep winning the toss and inserting England...

Hales cleaned up early but Malan has carried on where he left off the other day , and Jos is settling in after a scratchy start...49/1 in the seventh ...and the rain arrives.

Lot of that around these parts lately. Wonder whether we will see a full game tonight ?

[alfie]

So as they come back out , after 9.4 overs , England are 73/2 and this is a twelve over match ...

Which really does make it more than usually meaningless !

Something for the patrons patient enough to wait , I guess. But I hope we don't have any of the real WC games reduced to such an absurdity.

[Duty281]

Imagine a five-over World Cup final!

Has been a lot of rain in Australia recently, most of the warm-ups in the past few days have been washed out. Hopefully just getting rid of it before the tournament starts.

[VTR]

Yeah, this is garbage, England's innings curtailed during the building phase then Australia also benefit from the huge shift in risk/reward from still having all ten wickets to chase a low score

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Rain? Should move it to a country with consistently hot weather, like England, imo

[alfie]

Some nice hitting from Jos and Ben sees a total of 112/2 ...

The Magic of Duckworth etc means the home side will need 130 from their twelve.

Not much scope for finesse tonight...expect some full-on bashing

Maxwell did pretty well in bowling the final over for just nine after Hazlewood had gone for 22. And he's going to be the man to start the chase for Australia in the absence of Warner.

[alfie]

Ha...no joy for Finch as he goes first ball to a nice outfield catch by Harry Brook...guess they have to go for it.

[alfie]

...and Marsh totally undone there and can only fend a catch to Wood diving at deep gully...

Woakes on a hat trick ...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

If England are smart here they'll let Smith get a 50 so the Aussies pick him come the actual thing

[alfie]

Imagine a five-over World Cup final!

Has been a lot of rain in Australia recently, most of the warm-ups in the past few days have been washed out. Hopefully just getting rid of it before the tournament starts.

According to the weather prophets , there is a lot more water to come this summer so I fear we might see some abbreviated matches - and the odd no result.

Not sure what the arrangements are : would have hoped they'd have reserve days at least for the knock outs but that doesn't seem to be the modern way...

Meanwhile Woakes has three for three from eleven balls as Maxwell finds Stokes...at 17/3 this looks rather uphill for Australia now.

[Duty281]

Imagine a five-over World Cup final!

Has been a lot of rain in Australia recently, most of the warm-ups in the past few days have been washed out. Hopefully just getting rid of it before the tournament starts.

According to the weather prophets , there is a lot more water to come this summer so I fear we might see some abbreviated matches - and the odd no result.

Not sure what the arrangements are : would have hoped they'd have reserve days at least for the knock outs but that doesn't seem to be the modern way...

Meanwhile Woakes has three for three from eleven balls as Maxwell finds Stokes...at 17/3 this looks rather uphill for Australia now.

Reserve days are in place for the semi-finals and final, but I'm not sure what countback procedure they'll use if the reserve days get flushed away!

Woakes' best figures in T20i, but more rain looks like it'll have washed out the contest.

[alfie]

And now off for more Canberra drizzle...

Pah ! Might as well just play in the rain for a couple more overs and be done with it all. Pretty obvious that would mean an England win on D/L but who really cares ? Bit pointless hanging around indefinitely to try and eke out the rest of the overs.

[Duty281]

Game abandoned. England have one more warm-up, which is against Pakistan on Monday, before starting the tournament proper on Saturday 22nd v Afghanistan.

Tournament itself begins on Sunday with Sri Lanka v Namibia and the UAE v the Netherlands.

[alfie]

So the game ends up in a watery grave and England have bragging rights for a two- nil series win...

Means very little for WC of course - although it is encouraging for them that the players seem to have adapted to Australian conditions well. The Australians will likely be better when the serious stuff starts ; but to be honest I don't think they or anyone could be called massive favourites : t20 is just too unpredictable and frequently turns on a few balls and a bit of good or ill fortune. At least , unlike the last WC , this one shouldn't be decided just by who wins the toss.

[Pal Joey]

Yeah, I've started to watch some old rugby league test matches to make me feel better.
That 1974 one was a cracker although it's hard to top that 1990 2nd Test!  

You'd think with all the years of planning before this T20 WC they have some comprehensive contingency plans in place. 12 overs with DLS should be the absolute minimum. 8 or 10 over matches is simply ridiculous.

Basically since early 2020 we've had stupendous amounts of rain, especially along the east coast. The 1 in 500 year event (I don't know how they work that one out but I guess the 'modelling' is there) was broken twice only a few months apart. On a much better note, it was quite a nice spring-like day here in Sydney. First bit of clear blue sky for a while... and I even had a swim and a lie down in the sun around lunchtime.

However, I still don't feel so confident about the weather prospects for the World Cup. Especially in Sydney and Brisbane... alfie would know more about Melbourne. Perth looks pretty good so far but they too can get sudden heavy rain blow ins from the south-west.

We could be lucky and get many games in if the weather window is right - but bear in mind that the 4 negative wet weather drivers are presently in operation and thus there is the uneasy feeling that one can't be very confident of the weather from one day to the next.

The ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) - we are experiencing La Niña now however (higher rainfall on the east coast), the IOD or Indian Ocean Dipole (the moist west-to-east jet stream which dumps rain on Central Australia), the SAM or Southern Annular Mode which brings cold moist air up from Antarctica into southern Australia (and which alfie is probably experiencing about now) and the one I've never heard of until recently - the MJO or Madden-Julian Oscillation which tends to push equatorial storms further south into northern Australia... which then track south-east.

Here's a map of it all...

Spoiler:

So to sum it all up - this continent is pretty much like our T20 cricket team at the moment; getting fully battered from all directions.

I still have a glimmer of hope, however, that the Australian team is just in a bad patch of form and they can still manage the customary switch to Tournament Mode from October 22 onwards and somehow put up a fight for their last 'warm-up' match against India in Brisbane.

In the meantime, Andrew McDonald and his team of coaches need to sit all the players down and give them a good dressing down followed by some video sessions of happier times out on the cricket field. Hugs, slaps (with gloves on), tears and laughter might be the sort of remedy the team needs to lift themselves out of the rut they're in at the moment. That might possibly work...

[alfie]

Despite all the fuss about Warner's leadership suitability I doubt Australia are considering dropping skipper Finch before the WC... Would obviously like some runs though ! Similar for Maxwell : but this format is so up and down we know a player can emerge from a bunch of low scores with a bang at any time . Which is why teams tend to stick to established players for the big games.

Main question for Australia is whether to try and fit Smith into their XI. Probably not needed on flat decks against moderate opposition but a tough semi on a pitch with some spice...hmm. Maybe ?

Looking like Warner Finch Marsh Maxwell Stoinis David Wade Cummins Starc Zampa Hazlewood... which is pretty good on paper.  Hasn't really worked in these England games but no reason to believe they won't be highly effective in the serious stuff. No real weakness and I'd be rather shocked if they didn't make the knock outs - although the group they share with England , New Zealand , and probably Sri Lanka looks the stronger of the two so won't want any slip ups.

[alfie]

Didn't take long for this WC to produce an upset...

Namibia seeing off Sri Lanka fairly comfortably in the first of the qualifying group games. Thought they had a chance once they'd posted 163 - due to a crazy last five over onslaught. But then bowling Sri Lanka out for just 108

Not a good sign for the Asia Cup winners , who will probably still qualify for the main event but on this showing won't be any kind of a force.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Last time round I picked out Bangladesh as my "dark horse" team for them to be absolute rubbish - but we go back to the well again...and this time I think I am picking Sri Lanka as said team!

Just won the Asia Cup, which I appreciate is distinctly different conditions to what they will face in Aus, but they have some interesting young talent which could show up and enjoy it I think.
A lot does rest on Chameera being fit to play, and Kumara being fit would be handy too - Chameera is an exceptional t20 bowler with his pace/ability to change pace, and Kumara could enjoy Aus with his express pace too (albeit he's a bit more wild). In Hasaranga they have one of the premier all rounders in t20 cricket, who I think will go very well, and the batting is ok.
They have some decent biffers in the middle/lower middle order in Shanaka and Hasaranga, I haven't seen him play but hear Rajapaksa is similar - some good firepower.
The top order is the weakest area of the team, and the main worry/probably downfall for this "pick".

Excited to see how they go in the qualifying games - expecting them to breeze it past their group with Namibia, Dutch and UAE.
The other group with WI/Ireland/Scotland/Zimbabwe is the one to really watch - with two going through you'd think West Indies *should* make it, but its no sure thing. Zimbabwe are a solid side, and I think both Ireland and Scotland have dangerous players, the Irish in particular.

What an idiot this bloke is eh - wouldn’t read a thing he writes

[alfie]

Ah you never know , Olly : it is t20 after all Not so long ago was it when Australia got smashed in dramatic style by England early in a WC and still managed to win the damn thing ...

[Duty281]

Well that's an interesting start to the World Cup! Sri Lanka beaten - and not just beaten but comprehensively so. 55 runs is a hammering in T20 terms.

Sri Lanka's qualification now balanced on a knife-edge as they'll need to beat the Netherlands and the UAE...and if it goes down to NRR - in a scenario where SL beat the Dutch, but the Dutch beat Namibia, and everyone beats the UAE, leaving three teams on four points - then SL are already tremendously behind in that regard after this sizable defeat.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Also a massive issue if we have any of remaining games washed out due to rain for Sri Lanka - and even worse is it looks like the Dutch are on course for a fairly resounding victory over UAE here

[Duty281]

The Dutch were cruising after four overs, looked like they were going to win with 8-10 overs remaining, but now they've stalled and the UAE have them in deep trouble.

Two wickets in three balls for Siddique. 76/6, Dutch still need 36. Two new batsmen at the crease.

[Pal Joey]

it looks like the Dutch are on course for a fairly resounding victory over UAE here

Any other good tips Olly?

They might just scrape home but they're sure making a meal of it. UAE are on a roll.

The Dutch look as though they've slipped off the dike and are headed into the polder. Luckily they're not wearing whites.

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