[ad_1]
Group A is expected to be a very competitive group in the first round of the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which begins tomorrow, with Namibia, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) vying to qualify for the Super 12.
Sri Lanka, who recently won the Asian Cup, are favourites to advance, but face a tricky first test against Namibia, who advanced to the Super 12 at last year’s inaugural ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The UAE’s return to action is against the Netherlands, who will be keen to make up for last year’s disappointing run.
All six matches will be played at Cardinia Park in Geelong, with the winners joining defending champions and hosts Australia, Afghanistan, England, New Zealand and the Group B runners-up of Super 12 Group 1.
The second-placed team will advance to Group 2 to face Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa and the Group A runners-up.
Namibia
Namibia were disadvantaged in the first-round group of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, but easy victories over the Netherlands and Ireland ensured their promotion to the tournament.
They have since beat Zimbabwe 3-2 in a five-match T20I series in May, winning their first ever series victory over an official country. Captain Gerhard Erasmus was the star of the Irish qualifying win.
Wicketkeeper-batter Lohan Louwrens is a new addition to watch this time around. Having previously captained the under-19 national team, he has already left his mark on them at the top.
While Sri Lanka will be a tough first test, Namibia will be hoping they can beat the Netherlands in their second match, as they did last year, in what is likely to be their second consecutive Super 12 appearance.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, who has been featured in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, will have to work hard to do just that if they want to be champions for a second time.
They reached the final three times between 2009 and 2014 and won the gold at the third inquiry thanks to Kumar Sangakkara’s typically guaranteed innings. But two consecutive eighth finishes mean expectations have been lowered ahead of the next race.
However, the Asian Cup victory in September showed that the team had turned the corner. Wanindu Hasaranga was impressed with the ball there as only India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar took more wickets than the talented leg spinner.
Netherlands
They lost to Bangladesh and eliminated Oman before their final first-round match at the 2016 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Then, in 2021, they suffered humiliating defeats in each of their three games, twice being eliminated by less than 110.
That means a quick start to the year is required for the lowest-ranked team in the group, who will look to be in a strong position ahead of their clash with Sri Lanka on October 20.
One of those pushing hard at the Emirates was Pasteur, who failed to double figures in both of his group matches.
Still, it’s been a good summer for the 22-year-old, who has played two and a half centuries of T20I against New Zealand and 89 against Pakistan in the ODI.
If he and Max O’Dowd can find their best form, Holland has a chance to get in.
United Arab Emirates
After eight years, the UAE returns to the T20 World Cup. Their only previous encounter was three losses at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2014.
Aside from a change of captain, preparations for the game have been going well and they put up a tough test against two-time world champions West Indies in their penultimate warm-up match, with spinner Junaid Siddiq taking five of 13 points impressive.
Despite the best efforts of Muhammad Waseem (69 of 52) and Zawar Farid (29 of 14), they ended up 17 points behind with 152.
It was a promising and morale-boosting performance from the team, showing their ability to piss off some in Group 1.
[ad_2]
Source link
