T20 World Cup Preview by The Podium

Having originally been penned into the sporting calendar in 2020, only for COVID-19 to take hold across the world, Australia look set to finally host the men’s T20 World Cup in 2022.

The 8th edition of the competition down under promises to be another incredible showcase of cricketing excellence and hosts Australia will be looking to defend the title they won in Oman and the UAE in 2021.

Few sporting spectacles are as fast and furious as T20 cricket and with a whole host of established Test-playing nations having to prove their worth against some emerging cricketing countries, the 2022 edition of the ICC T20 World Cup promises to be a memorable one.

With 16 teams taking part in the competition for the final time, before it expands to a 20-team competition in the West Indies in 2024, every match will be hotly contested – building up towards the final showpiece at the MCG on November 13th, 2022.

Here is a preview of the key runners and riders at the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup:

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First Round

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Once again in 2022, 8 countries will battle it out in the preliminary rounds of the competition, with the top 4 sides progressing to the Super 12s.

Two groups of 4 teams will pit each side against each other once, with the top two sides in each group going through to the next round and the stakes couldn’t be higher for many of the ICC’s emerging nations.
 

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Group A

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Sri Lanka will be hot favourites to progress from Group A, with the 2014 ICC T20 World Cup winners looking a side reborn under new coach Chris Silverwood. The Netherlands are beginning to establish themselves fully as a force in white-ball cricket, whilst Namibia will be looking to talismanic all-rounder David Wiese as their key man. UAE should enjoy playing without pressure in this group and with two sides going through, every team will fancy their chances.

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Group B

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Arguably the tougher of the two groups on paper, 2016 champions West Indies will be keen to progress through the group stages as quickly as possible. Both Ireland and Scotland have enjoyed some excellent results at this level in recent years and they will be hoping to build upon them in 2022. Zimbabwe are perhaps the forgotten side in international cricket currently but a recent T20 win over Australia should give them confidence here.

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Super 12’s

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Once four teams have progressed through the first round, the Super 12’s get underway. Pitting the 12 best sides in the world into two groups of 6 and with each team playing each other once, the stakes are huge in every game, for every side.

The Super 12’s format is famously unforgiving, with only the top two sides in each group progressing to the semi-finals – meaning there is no margin for error for any team in the Super 12’s.

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Super 12’s - Group 1

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Hosts and defending champions Australia will start as hot favourites in home conditions but they will be all too aware of the dangers they face in Group 1. New Zealand were the side that Australia beat in the 2021 T20 World Cup final, and they will also pose a serious threat from the outset. England last won this competition in 2010 but are the defending 50-over world champions and they have a reputation as one of the most dangerous white ball sides on the planet. Afghanistan will revel in their role of underdog within this group and with the likes of Rashid Khan in their side, they will believe they can beat anyone on their day.

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Super 12’s - Group 2

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Having not won the T20 World Cup since its inaugural year in 2007, India will be keen to showcase their undoubted talent on the biggest stage of all in 2022. Pakistan will provide an intensity and unpredictability to the competition that always makes them difficult to write off, particularly in the shortest format of the game. South Africa notoriously struggle in the big tournaments, but their young side impressed in a recent T20 series win in England, whilst Bangladesh are quietly coming of age in T20 cricket, and they have picked up some excellent results in 2022.

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Semi-Finals and Final

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As mentioned, only two sides from each of the Super 12 groups will progress to the semi-finals, with the winners of Group 1 playing the runners up of Group 2 and the winners of Group 2 facing the runners up of Group 1.

The first semi-final will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the 9th November, with the second semi-final taking place at the Adelaide Oval on November 10th.

From there, the two winning sides will battle it out to be crowned 2022 ICC T20 World Cup Champions at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on 13th November, 2022.

 

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