England’s T20 World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread after a frustrating wash out against host nation Australia in Melbourne.
Persistent rain at the MCG, which saw Ireland’s game against Afghanistan also called off without a ball being bowled, scuppered any chances of the highly-anticipated clash taking place.
The loser of the hotly-awaited showdown, which was expected to have a crowd of around 60,000, would likely have crashed out at the Super 12s phase. But a point apiece leaves Group 1 wide open with both sides now precariously placed in their bid to reach the knockout phase.
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Jos Buttler’s side’s hopes of glory suffered a brutal blow after their shock defeat to Ireland and this rain off leaves them needing to beat both New Zealand and Sri Lanka to remain on track to reach the semi-finals.
One positive for England is they have a superior net run-rate than the Aussies, who were heavily beaten by New Zealand in their first game, so beating the Kiwis and former champions Sri Lanka would leave them sitting pretty as long as Aaron Finch’s Australia don’t overhaul a big net run-rate deficit.
England captain Buttler said: “It’s one of the biggest games of your career so we are very disappointed to not be able to play. Our full focus is now on our next match to keep our tournament alive.”
Organisers are going to come under fire after yet another wash out. It was the fourth game to finish as a no result due to the weather. There is no doubt that the tournament has been unlucky to be hit by persistent rain.
However, the blockbuster event is in danger of becoming infamously known as the wet World Cup after the amount of cricket lost to the elements.
One greatly frustrating issue is the fact the double-header scheduling clearly hasn’t worked Down Under. With the unexpected amount of rain having two games a day at the same ground has come back to haunt them.
Melbourne has suffered from the La Nina weather pattern and there has been serious flooding in parts of Victoria.
Despite England’s showpiece encounter against Australia having FIVE HOURS after the first match was called off to squeeze a five-over-a-side game in, the outfield was saturated and deemed unfit for play.
Aussie skipper Finch said: “The outfield has taken a drenching over the last couple of weeks and that’s the worst I’ve seen it in this stadium. First and foremost we’ve got to try and win our remaining games and have to earn the right to push for net run-rate.”
Common sense suggests that if the first game is rained off then it is always going to be highly likely that the second would follow suit. Had the second game been arranged at another venue around the country then it would be more likely at least one game would have been played.
Cricket sometimes shoots itself in the foot and today was another example, albeit not entirely of their own making. Authorities have to take the blame for scheduling a global event during Australia’s rainy season, even if the weather has been more extreme than usual.
Fans were left bitterly frustrated by another rain out and boos rang around the ground after news of the call off were announced. Other sports such as tennis, American football and rugby have stadiums with roofs on so they can play in all conditions. Boxing events in the winter are often held at Wales’ Principality Stadium due to the roof.
There is a perfectly fit-for-purpose stadium in Melbourne with a roof which has hosted cricket games before. The logistics of moving a game there at short notice, including ticket sales, are obviously an issue, but more could have been done behind the scenes in the planning phase to have it as a potential back-up option or a ground used during the event.
Lots of people are criticising the umpires, but they must remember that their job first and foremost is the players’ safety. In South Africa’s rain off with Zimbabwe, the Zimbabweans suffered an injury to a seam bowler and solely bowled spin to the detriment of their chances in the game to avoid potentially injuring their fast bowlers.
Another argument is covering the whole outfield which would drastically reduce the wait time for the ground to sufficiently dry out and be playable.
There are numerous things that cricket can do moving forward to try and ensure less cricket is lost, and hopefully this tournament gives the International Cricket Council food for thought for the future.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
