2022 T20 World Cup thread

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

First topic message reminder :

Marsh put down, Aus right on the edge

Might have been the turning point of this one

[alfie]

Innings imploding ...Australians might be thinking "what if we had got a breakthrough a bit earlier" ? But in truth the batting didn't quite do enough , and left too much for the bowlers.

There will be a lot of locals cheering for Sri Lanka tomorrow night.

[alfie]

ha... Green was not such a gun in the field with that one!

Yes Billy... a few of them are a bit long in the tooth now. We need to clear some of them out.

Well I presume Finch is done. Wade , With younger keepers around. Warner might be keen to go again unless he decides to focus on the franchise stuff.

Probably shouldn't write obituaries yet ...England still need to beat Sri Lanka or they might yet rise from the ashes - even if they don't really deserve to.

Gulbadin is motoring. Afghanistan could even win this !

Nice one.

Maybe hold your match report just for now, alfie.
Nearly 12 runs needed per over... possible but unlikely as another one wicket falls.

Ha...I have changed the match report three times already since then . This is short and fast cricket...

The run out changed this game completely ...though to be honest I always suspected the chase would fall short. Credit to Afghanistan for giving Australia a scare.

[GSC]

Anyway Afghanistan go past the other mooted total of 119 so the equation is now simple for England, beat an eliminated SL side tomorrow

[GSC]

Still 33 from 2 if Rashid fancies it...

[eirebilly_01]

That Zampa over truly changed the course of this game. Afghanistan will feel they have let this slip.

[Pal Joey]

Innings imploding ...Australians might be thinking "what if we had got a breakthrough a bit earlier" ? But in truth the batting didn't quite do enough , and left too much for the bowlers.

There will be a lot of locals cheering for Sri Lanka tomorrow night.

A lot of local Sri Lankans too.

I'm not too fussed. I think England in the last 4 would be well worth it and well earned. That would set up a tantalising semi v India most likely.

I wouldn't mind seeing NZ go all the way but I have a feeling that might elude them once again. Hope I'm wrong. SA must be seething after that loss.

Of course I'd be hoping England get over India (if that's the 2nd semi) and if they do; I'd back them to win the final. I think they'd possibly have a tougher task v SA but have a mental edge over NZ the way things are at present.

However, if India prevail (in Adelaide or Sydney) I'd then have them as favourites; even though they just lost to SA and NZ sometimes have had the wood on them in recent times.

[GSC]

21 from the last as Stoinis manages to get Rashid on strike

[eirebilly_01]

That was indeed a very close finish. Well done Afghanistan

[GSC]

Close but no cigar. But for that over of carnage, Afghanistan could've pulled off the shock

[alfie]

Fair to say that was closer than most expected ! Rashid Khan gave it the works... after all is said and done that game actually was decided by Australia making less errors in the field...

Afghans certainly nothing to be ashamed of with their campaign here

[Duty281]

Very brave effort from Rashid Khan. I often think he bats too low in T20 because of those destructive innings he plays - he should not be coming in at number eight!

England just need to win tomorrow and they're deserved semi-finalists. Likely to come second in the group, so that means a SF v India is in the offing.

[Pal Joey]

Australia are such generous hosts letting our dear Afghan friends get within 4 runs. The Richardson experiment didn't work out too well did it?
This Australian team doesn't really deserve to go any further... that would be obscene!

So onto tomorrow. The weather is set fair so let's hope the result is more convincing than tonight's... and the predicted result occurs with the 3 lions prevailing over the single lion with the sword.

[dummy_half]

One big hit too few from Rashid Khan, sees Afghanistan lose by 4 runs. Close but no cigar with a valiant last couple of overs following the mid-innings collapse.
No boost to Australia's poor NRR, so England just need any sort of win against Sri Lanka tomorrow morning to progress and to eliminate Australia. Theoretically can win the group, but a net run rate swing of 1.565 would need England to win by approaching 125 runs (again, for the back if an envelope calculation, I've assumed each game has been 20 overs, which isn't accurate, so the actual target will be a bit less, but likely still in excess of 100). Not likely to happen - just concentrate on taking the win and progressing.

[eirebilly_01]

Sri Lanka with nothing to lose and nothing to gain can be a very dangerous beast. Tomorrow's game will be very interesting indeed. Form says that England should win but there is more pressure on them than Sri Lanka and pressure plus expectations, can do funny things to teams.

For me its 50/50.

[Pal Joey]

True Billy but this Sri Lankan team will need to play out of their skins and England to fall into a hole - which I don't see happening.
I think it's more 75:25 England but if you then discount it for a 'pressure match for a spot in the semis'... it's maybe 65:35.

England at their best are streets ahead of Sri Lanka in my view. England have more seasoned, big match players with more confidence shown throughout the tournament. Their loss to Ireland was unfortunate but more of an anomaly - with respect to your lads. In better weather conditions it most likely wouldn't have turned out like it did.

[alfie]

Yeah...Sri Lanka obviously would have preferred an Afghan win to keep their hopes alive...but with nothing but pride at stake they might have a bit of freedom in their play tomorrow. Whereas if it were to get tight , England just might suffer from nerves...

As PJ says , Australia do not really deserve to qualify after a largely disappointing series of games - though I am sure they will take their fortune if Sri Lanka drop it in their lap

As for England : they have played one good match , one mediocre and one rather poor ; but come to the last game with qualification in their own hands. So if they fail to take this they will only have themselves to blame. I think they'll win ; but but anything can happen in t20 , so ...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Nice for England to not have to worry about any NRR implications - obviously the win and in pressure is there, but adding in a "you have to win by 20 runs" type factor can skew things a bit, just going out and focusing on playing their best at least.

Think as ever with these "dead rubber for one team" type games, the start is really crucial. You could definitely see Sri Lankan heads drop if Buttler/Hales get off to a fast start in the powerplay, or England get a few early wickets.

[Pal Joey]

As PJ says , Australia do not really deserve to qualify after a largely disappointing series of games - though I am sure they will take their fortune if Sri Lanka drop it in their lap

Maybe so, alfie, but it wouldn't sit comfortably with me personally. If that scenario pans out I'll be more sorry for you. Seriously.

I'm almost at the point of boycotting our football team in Qatar. Firstly due to Qatar winning the right to hold it under suspicious circumstances... and secondly due to the recent protest about slave labour. Which I totally agree with by the way - but I consider these footballers complete hypocrites for partaking in the tournament over there in the first place... and pocketing the money along the way. Gold (and green) washing at its worst!  

Similarly, this Australian cricket team has performed pretty poorly, in my opinion. No better than 3rd in the group at best. An argument for 4th even. Then they (or some players) carry on about inappropriate sponsors (having already subjected us to their TV ads for years... and pocketing that money as well) so it's no wonder some of them have their heads in the wrong place. They are not 100% switched on for their own home tournament!

So I say: blow them! Back in your faces, 'brothers'!

As Biily says, a few of them need to be shown the door. I certainly won't lose any sleep not watching them bumble their way through the sharp end of the tournament. Even though it's on here during normal hours and not 3am like last time.  

[Duty281]

England are very solid favourites to beat Sri Lanka, as solid as you can be in a T20, but they must not underestimate their opponents. SL did push NZ and Aus fairly close, so their chances must be respected.

The main danger in SL's armoury comes through the spin bowling, the seamers aren't much cop. Hasaranga had a terrible game v Australia, but on his day he can be a match-winner, and he's well backed up by Theekshana and (potentially) Dhananjaya. Their batting is quite weak and brittle, and although they did post a highly competitive score v Aus, they have been bowled out by Namibia and New Zealand. SL essentially rely on Nissanka to anchor one end, and then allow Mendis/Asalanka/Dhananjaya to attack from the other end. Worth noting, also, that SL's fielding in this competition has been garbage.

England haven't really got going yet, it's been a stop-start campaign. Beat Afghanistan, lost to Ireland, rain and then defeated NZ. Hopefully the win over NZ was the launchpad and England can put consecutive good performances together. Nothing has really clicked yet and England don't look like champions-in-waiting, yet they're only three games from glory...

[JDizzle]

Nice for England to not have to worry about any NRR implications - obviously the win and in pressure is there, but adding in a "you have to win by 20 runs" type factor can skew things a bit, just going out and focusing on playing their best at least.

Think as ever with these "dead rubber for one team" type games, the start is really crucial. You could definitely see Sri Lankan heads drop if Buttler/Hales get off to a fast start in the powerplay, or England get a few early wickets.

No NRR pressure? A mere 125ish run victory would secure top spot in the group, disappointed if they don’t go for it.

[Duty281]

Interesting statistical quirk - because Kohli has only been dismissed once, he's currently averaging 220 for the tournament, with a strike rate of 145.

It's a shame he'll do nothing in the knockout rounds, as usual.

[KP_fan]

Interesting statistical quirk - because Kohli has only been dismissed once, he's currently averaging 220 for the tournament, with a strike rate of 145.

It's a shame he'll do nothing in the knockout rounds, as usual.

Kohli is due for failure...can't count on him for the K.Os
Rohit or Pant will have to stand up .......for that they've gotta play Pant first.
But lets put aside Zim clinically first , and by the time we play Zim we will know whether it will be Aus or Eng to Plan for in the Thursday semis

[eirebilly_01]

Morning/Evening all,

So today is the day we find out England's fate. Must admit to being very nervous about this one. Hoping the toss is won and England bat first and get off to a flyer.

[Pal Joey]

Nice day outside. Blue skies... perfect for cricket.

[eirebilly_01]

Bad start for England, Sri Lanka winning the toss and choosing to bat. Sri Lanka are much better defenders than chasers.

[KP_fan]

Today I found out for the first time. that a lad named Dasaka Shana is Lankan captain

Used pitch both captains agreed, will spin and Lankan spinners will bowl last.
Lanka need to bat carefully and be 100-2 in about 14 overs

[eirebilly_01]

I would say that England need to keep Sri Lanka under 150...

[alfie]

Probably not what England wanted . Sri Lanka batting gives them a better chance - but on recent form , England really should be beating them. If they can't , they'd arguably be wasting their time in the finals...

Chasing is their weaker suit so this just might be a good exercise.

[Duty281]

Very poor opener from Stokes.

[eirebilly_01]

Incredibly ordinary first over from Stokes...

[alfie]

Bright start for Sri Lanka.

[eirebilly_01]

Shocking start for England. No way should Wood be bowling this early...
This is going just the way I feared for England.

[VTR]

Not time to panic yet, but in a must win game, where the PP has tended to be the difficult period to score, that is a dreadful start

[Duty281]

Worst possible start. England look lethargic in the field - aside from the boundaries, way too many singles are being allowed for shots inside the circle.

[alfie]

Dreadful start for England...Sri Lanka flying after 3.5...

And then...nicely taken Liam Livingstone

[alfie]

Might see a bit of spin today. Dry crumbly pitch ? Slightly surprised England went Stokes.Woakes.Wood...as I thought they might try the Moeen ploy again.

Fifty up in five and Sri Lanka will be happy with that , even with one down.

Glad to see the weather is good.

[Duty281]

Nissanka has a career international T20 SR of below 115; here he is striking at over 200!

[alfie]

And indeed Rashid is on already. And bowling rather well ...

That was an economical over England needed !

[alfie]

Livingstone now ...and nearly draws an error.. Can hear KP_fan saying "pace off the ball"...

Still 65 off seven is excellent for Sri Lanka.

[KP_fan]

Pitch is gripping a bit is clear when livingstone beats a RHB on spin
Its not easy to hit slow gripping spin out of the park...as the park is quite big and it requires Roussow / gayle type raw power

Eng need to have their boundary riders standing exactly on the rope...not even a meter inside

[KP_fan]

72 balls left and even a meager run a ball gets SL to 144 which might be a testing total

Off course if they hold wickets in hand they should and will get more and 160 would make it 70-30 in SL's favor

[KP_fan]

Pitch is gripping a bit is clear when livingstone beats a RHB on spin
Its not easy to hit slow gripping spin out of the park...as the park is quite big and it requires Roussow / gayle type raw power

Eng need to have their boundary riders standing exactly on the rope...not even a meter inside

And stokes catches exactly on the boundary....and exactly what Lanka need not do...
the match situation required them to milk ones and twos until the last 2 to 3 overs

Window open for Eng

[JDizzle]

England are going to have to note what SL did and go hard in the PP, as batting outside it vs spin is going to be tough. Wonder if they’d consider promotion Moeen to open or 3 to pinch hit vs early spin?

[KP_fan]

Eng can and should finish their remaining overs with 3 spinners and slow cutters from Curran

[VTR]

Nissanka has a career international T20 SR of below 115; here he is striking at over 200!

Today's version of Shai Hope!

[Duty281]

Sri Lanka's innings just slowing up and they've lost a third. Chance here for England to push through and get them 100/5.

[alfie]

Good comeback from England...Curran and Stokes. Nissanka is still firing but needs assistance...

[eirebilly_01]

Well played Nissanka but he does have to take it home for Sri Lanka.

England slowing things up but are still in a very big hole.

[JDizzle]

How effective an out of form Rashid has been is a worry for when Hasaranga bowls…

[Duty281]

Could be Malan's tournament over.

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