All you need to know ahead of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, which is live in full on Sky Sports between June 1-29…
Another World Cup?!
Yep. Seven months after England’s atrocious 50-over World Cup title defence in India – at which they lost six of their first seven games and were dumped out in the group stage – and less than two years since they won the T20 version for the second time with victory over Pakistan in the 2022 final in Melbourne, they and 19 other teams are convening in the Caribbean and USA for another global event.
The USA, you say?
Damn right. For the first time in any Cricket World Cup (T20 or 50 over) matches will be held in the good old US of A, with America and West Indies’ joint bid to host the event greenlit by the International Cricket Council in late 2021.
The Nassau Cricket Stadium on Long Island, New York will host eight matches at the T20 World Cup, including Pakistan vs India
Three American venues will be used throughout the tournament – Central Broward Park in Lauderhill, Florida; the Nassau County Stadium on Long Island, New York; and Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas – with 16 of the 55 matches taking place in the USA, all in the first group stage.
The temporary arena on Long Island, which has had its pitch flown in from Adelaide, will host the hotly anticipated Pakistan vs India match on Sunday June 9 (3.30pm start UK). The tournament will begin in Dallas on Saturday June 1 as co-hosts USA take on Canada (1.30am on Sunday June 2 UK).
Which two teams will reach the T20 World Cup final at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday, June 29?
The six West Indian venues hosting matches are Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The first semi-final is in Trinidad and Tobago and the second in Guyana, with the final, on Saturday June 29, held at Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Which teams are in the tournament and how did they get there?
USA and West Indies earned their spots as tournament hosts, with America to now compete in the T20 World Cup for the first time. Canada and Uganda will also make their T20 World Cup bows this year after coming through the Americas Qualifier and African Qualifier respectively.
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Uganda’s cricket team celebrated in style after qualifying for the Men’s T20 World Cup for the first time in their history
England, Pakistan, New Zealand, India, Australia, South Africa, Netherlands and Sri Lanka secured their places by finishing in the top eight of the previous T20 World Cup in 2022, with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka qualifying courtesy of being the next two highest-placed teams in the T20I rankings.
Ireland and Scotland advanced from the European section of qualifying, with Papua New Guinea progressing through the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier, and Oman and Nepal snatching the two spots from the Asian Qualifier. Namibia joined Uganda in making it through the African Qualifier.
How does the tournament work?
Right, pay close attention…
The 20 sides are separated into four groups of five in the first stage, with each country playing the other teams in their group once each in a round-robin format.
The top two in each pool advance to the Super 8s, when the remaining eight teams are then split into two groups of four.
The initial groups are as follows:
Group A – India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, USA
Group B – England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman
Group C – New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, Papua New Guinea
Group D – South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal
Captain Jos Buttler celebrates with the trophy after England won the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia
To help with planning, should the eight seeded sides – England, Australia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa and Sri Lanka – make it into the Super 8s, then their group position will be predetermined, not based on where they finish in the first pool stage.
So, the Super 8 groups could look like this:
Group 1: India (A1), Australia (B2), New Zealand (C1), Sri Lanka (D2)
Group 2: Pakistan (A2), England (B1), West Indies (C2), South Africa (D1)
If an unseeded team qualifies for the Super 8s, they will take on the seeding of whoever they knocked out. If there are two unseeded qualifiers from the same group, their Super 8 group will be determined by league position.
In the Super 8s, each team plays the others in their group once, with the top two reaching the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the winner of Group 1 plays the runner-up in Group 2, with whoever tops Group 2 playing the runner-up in Group 1.
Should either semi-final not be completed due to inclement weather, the higher placed side from the Super 8 phase will progress.
Got all that?!
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Broadcaster Andrew Leonard tells Sky Sports that England could end up in trouble if they underestimate their Associate Member opponents at the T20 World Cup
What else do I need to know?
– There will be no ties in the tournament as if sides are level after 20 overs a Super Over will be contested to determine the winner. If that ends in a tie as well, then Super Overs will continue until a winner is decided.
– Sides earn two points for a win, one for a no result and none for a defeat.
– In the group phases, a minimum of five overs per side must be played to constitute a result, rising to 10 overs for the semi-finals and final.
– The first semi-final and final have a reserve day to help forge a result in the event of bad weather with the second semi-final having 250 minutes available on the scheduled day.
– If India reach the knockout stage, they will play in the second semi-final as it is at a more friendly time (8pm India) for their county’s TV audience than the first semi-final (6am India).
How might England do?
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Managing director of men’s cricket Rob Key says he is optimistic Jofra Archer can return ‘fully firing’ after his inclusion in England’s T20 World Cup squad
They look well equipped to challenge, although we thought that ahead of the 50-over World Cup in India last autumn and they ended up having an absolute horror show then!
There is no Ben Stokes for England this time around with the all-rounder, who played the key innings as his nation won the 2019 50-over World Cup at Lord’s and 2022 T20 World Cup in Melbourne.
Stokes has made himself unavailable for selection as he focuses on getting back to full fitness after knee surgery and becoming “the all-rounder I want to be” across all formats of the game.
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Virat Kohli watched on from the other end in amazement as England’s Will Jacks hit a 41-ball century for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Gujarat Titans in the IPL.
England’s batting is still packed full of big hitters, though, with the likely top six Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone.
Bowling is probably their weaker suit, although they do possess the world’s top-ranked T20I bowler in leg-spinner Adil Rashid, while paceman Jofra Archer is back in the squad after a nightmare run with injuries since he burst onto the international in 2019 and bowled the Super Over that won England that year’s 50-over World Cup.
England’s T20 World Cup squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
Check out every squad named so far here.
And how do I follow the action on Sky Sports?
Every match is live on Sky Sports, with non-Sky subscribers able to watch contract-free through a NOW Month or Day Membership.
You can follow the action across Sky Sports’ digital platforms with match reports, scorecards, video highlights, features, podcasts and pundit analysis, while we will also bring you live blogs of selected games, including England fixtures and Pakistan vs India.
Men’s T20 World Cup: Full fixtures (all times UK and Ireland)
Group stage
Sunday June 2
USA vs Canada – Grand Prairie, Texas (1.30am)
West Indies vs Papua New Guinea – Providence, Guyana (3.30pm)
Monday June 3
Namibia vs Oman – Bridgetown, Barbados (1.30am)
Sri Lanka vs South Africa – Long Island, New York (3.30pm)
Tuesday June 4
Afghanistan vs Uganda – Providence, Guyana (1.30am)
England vs Scotland – Bridgetown, Barbados (3.30pm)
Netherlands vs Nepal – Grand Prairie, Texas (4.30pm)
Wednesday June 5
India vs Ireland – Long Island, New York (3.30pm)
Thursday June 6
Papua New Guinea vs Uganda – Providence, Guyana (12.30am)
Australia vs Oman – Bridgetown, Barbados (1.30am)
USA vs Pakistan – Grand Prairie, Texas (4.30pm)
Namibia vs Scotland – Bridgetown, Barbados (8pm)
Friday June 7
Canada vs Ireland – Long Island, New York (3.30pm)
Saturday June 8
New Zealand vs Afghanistan – Providence, Guyana (12.30am)
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh – Grand Prairie, Texas (1.30am)
Netherlands vs South Africa – Long Island, New York (3.30pm)
Australia vs England – Bridgetown, Barbados (6pm)
Sunday June 9
West Indies vs Uganda – Providence, Guyana (1.30am)
India vs Pakistan – Long Island, New York (3.30pm)
Oman vs Scotland – North Sound, Antigua (6pm)
Monday June 10
South Africa vs Bangladesh – Long Island, New York (3.30pm)
Tuesday June 11
Pakistan vs Canada – Long Island, New York (3.30pm)
Wednesday June 12
Sri Lanka vs Nepal – Lauderhill, Florida (12.30am)
Australia vs Namibia – North Sound, Antigua (1.30am)
USA vs India – Long Island, New York (3.30pm)
Thursday June 13
West Indies vs New Zealand – Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago (1.30am)
Bangladesh vs Netherlands – Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (3.30pm)
England vs Oman – North Sound, Antigua (8pm)
Friday June 14
Afghanistan vs Papua New Guinea – Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago (1.30am)
USA vs Ireland – Lauderhill, Florida (3.30pm)
Saturday June 15
South Africa vs Nepal – Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (12.30am)
New Zealand vs Uganda – Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago (1.30am)
India vs Canada – Lauderhill, Florida (3.30pm)
Namibia vs England – North Sound, Antigua (6pm)
Sunday June 16
Australia vs Scotland – Gros Islet, Saint Lucia (1.30am)
Pakistan vs Ireland – Lauderhill, Florida (3.30pm)
Monday June 17
Bangladesh vs Nepal – Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (12.30am)
Sri Lanka vs Netherlands – Gros Islet, Saint Lucia (1.30am)
New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea – Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago (3.30pm)
Tuesday June 18
West Indies vs Afghanistan – Gros Islet, Saint Lucia (1.30am)
Super 8s
Wednesday June 19
A2 vs D1 – North Sound, Antigua (3.30pm)
Thursday June 20
B1 vs C2 – Gros Islet, Saint Lucia (1.30am)
C1 vs A1 – Bridgetown, Barbados (3.30pm)
Friday June 21
B2 vs D2 – North Sound, Antigua (1.30am)
B1 vs D1 – Gros Islet, Saint Lucia (3.30pm)
Saturday June 22
A2 vs C2 – Bridgetown, Barbados (1.30am)
A1 vs D2 – North Sound, Antigua (3.30pm)
Sunday June 23
C1 vs B2 – Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1.30am)
A2 vs B1 – Bridgetown, Barbados (3.30pm)
Monday June 24
C2 vs D1 – North Sound, Antigua (1.30am)
B2 vs A1 – Gros Islet, Saint Lucia (3.30pm)
Tuesday June 25
C1 vs D2 – Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1.30am)
Knockout stages
Thursday June 27
Semi-final #1 – Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago (1.30am)
Semi-final #2 – Providence, Guyana (3.30pm)
Saturday June 29
Final – Bridgetown, Barbados (3.30pm)
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