The ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup tournament began on the 16th of October and runs until the 13th of November and is being held in Australia in major stadiums all over the country. The final will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The tournament was supposed to take place in 2020, but due to recent worldwide events, the ICC (International Cricket Council) decided it would be best to move it to 2022. 16 squads were confirmed to be participating in the tournament, with Australia being the first to do so on September 1st, 2022. The following teams are in contention for the T20 World Cup:
Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, West Indies, and Zimbabwe.
The Australian team are the defending champions of the tournament and with a strong team and a home-ground advantage, they’re in a good position to retain the title. So let’s see what the T20 World Cup 2022 has in store.
Australia has always been a strong force throughout the years no matter what version of the game is played, so it is no wonder they are highly backed favourites to win the event again. Veterans such as Steve Smith, David Warner, and Aaron Finch are in the 2022 squad with Finch retaining captain duties as well as being an opening batsman.
There were some upsets at the beginning of the tournament with Scotland beating the formidable West Indies by 42 runs at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. This was interesting as a few days later Zimbabwe beat Ireland by 31 runs but Ireland beat Scotland by 6 wickets at the same venue two days later on the 19th of October. The same day, the West Indies played Zimbabwe, whom they defeated by 31 runs. This little insight provides an interesting display of the game, where, because it is a limited overs form, means that victory can be snatched by anyone.
As of this time of writing, the other squads haven’t played yet with the next match scheduled for October 22 with reigning champions Australia against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Unshockingly, top squads including India and England are also top favourites to win the tournament, with both teams eager to take the championship away from the Australians. Other teams such as Afghanistan and Bangladesh are going to be in for a pretty hard slog to have any chance especially as they will be competing against highly skilled teams such as Australia, England, India, and Pakistan. Of course, upsets happen in any sporting event and this shortened version of cricket leaves no room for follies and mistakes.
Other world-class teams such as South Africa and Sri Lanka are also keen to take the coveted prize and both their One Day International (ODI) and T20 records show that they are more than capable of pulling off a win this year. Only time will tell if any of these teams live up to their expectations but no matter what, it is always an exciting event that brings cricket lovers from all over the world together to enjoy the sport which, in this form, has proven extremely popular since its international debut in 2005.
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