A wetter-than-average summer is anticipated as parts of Australia deal with the third consecutive La Nina weather pattern.
This weekend, the Twenty20 World Cup’s marquee matches—India vs. Pakistan and Australia’s opener against New Zealand—are both in jeopardy of being postponed due to rain.
A wetter-than-average summer is predicted for parts of Australia, and Sydney and Melbourne are anticipated to see downpours starting on Friday and lasting through the next week.
In a rematch of 2021 final in Dubai, when Mitchell Marsh’s unbeaten 77 helped Australia to an eight-wicket victory and their first title, Aaron Finch’s team will begin their title defence against New Zealand on Saturday evening at a sold-out Sydney Cricket Ground.
However, there won’t be any reserve days for team games because the Bureau of Meteorology predicts a “very high (over 90%) likelihood of showers” and possibly thunderstorms. They only participate in the semifinal and championship games.
It looks equally dismal for Sunday’s highly anticipated match between India and Pakistan in Melbourne, where up to 100,000 spectators are expected to attend the massive MCG and tens of millions more will watch online.
A match must consist of at least five overs per side.
Hobart, where games are scheduled for Friday and Sunday, could also be affected by the weather, though the weather is looking good for England’s opening match against Afghanistan in Perth on Saturday.
With the advantage of being the only T20 global champions who may attempt to defend their title at home, Australia has a fantastic chance to make history by winning the tournament back-to-back.
But they start their campaign having just lost a 2-0 series against England and Finch admitting they were “weary” after a long preparation.
Despite the difficult lead-up, pacesetter Pat Cummins claimed that they were better positioned because they beat the odds to win the championship the year before.
Better prepared He remarked this week, “I think in some ways we are even better prepared. “We’ve played a lot more, and we’ve taken inspiration from last year’s lessons.”
That being said, T20 is a pretty erratic format. If you take a look around, there are definitely four or five clubs that have a chance.
New Zealand, led by Kane Williamson, enters the competition in inconsistent form, having recently defeated Bangladesh and Pakistan while also losing to South Africa and Pakistan.
If their game goes on, fast bowler Tim Southee is well aware of how difficult an opponent Australia will be.
“You can’t even sniff them. They represent a class,” he said.
England, which has recently dominated white-ball cricket, is in the same six-team group as Australia and New Zealand and poses what may be their largest threat.
Reece Topley’s ankle injury on Wednesday dealt Jos Buttler’s team a setback, and fellow left-arm speed bowler Tymal Mills was elevated from his previous position as a travelling reserve.
Since only two teams from each of the two groups advanced to the semifinals, they were already playing without injured ace batsman Johnny Bairstow.
Despite being ranked first in the world going into their match with Pakistan, India hasn’t won a significant trophy since winning the 2013 Champions Trophy.
They are without important all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah due to injury, but captain Rohit Sharma insisted the team was capable of handling it.
In place of Bumrah, he remarked, “The bowlers who have travelled with us to the World Cup have played enough matches.”
After recovering from a knee injury, speed bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi is welcomed back to the Pakistani team after they just won a T20 tri-series in New Zealand.
The captain, Babar Azam, remarked that the boys were confident.
