Sports

Cricket heavyweights joined by trio of sides out to impress

Published

2 years ago

2024/05/31

Group B preview:

Australia and England will be favourites to progress out of Group B at the T20 World Cup, but Namibia, Oman and Scotland have shown previously they are more than capable of causing an upset or two.

The two most recent champions along with three spirited associates make up Group B of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

England, the defending champions of the Men’s T20 World Cup, and Australia, the winners of the 2021 edition, are in Group B along with Namibia, Oman and Scotland. Only the top two teams will progress to the Super 8s phase of the event.

While all eyes will be on the big names from Australia and England, there’s enough potential in Namibia, Oman, and Scotland to make the group results interesting.

Despite not reaching the final four stage of their home T20 World Cup in 2022, Australia are among the favourites in this edition. The talented side have a history of doing well in ICC events, and the current unit features several players in rich form with recent ICC success.

Squad

Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Fixtures

vs Oman – Wednesday, 5 June 2024 Barbados, 08:30 PM Local

vs England – Saturday, 8 June 2024 Barbados, 01:00 PM Local

vs Namibia – Tuesday, 11 June 2024 Antigua, 08:30 PM Local

vs Scotland – Saturday, 15 June 2024 St. Lucia, 08:30 PM Local

Key player – Travis Head

Travis Head has been Australia’s star performer in ICC tournaments of late, as shown through his stellar performances during the ICC World Test Championship final and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup semi-final and final.

Having won two ICC titles for Australia since June 2023, Head would like to make it a hat-trick for the men’s side with his dynamic display on the field.

Adding to his repertoire is his explosive form in the IPL, where he has scored more than 500 runs at a strike rate just below 200.

England

The defending champions, England, will yet again look to bank on the attacking style of play that has served them so well in the limited-overs format.

The return of pace spearhead Jofra Archer to the line-up is a big plus in a squad that seems to have all the key bases covered.

Squad

Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood

Fixtures

vs Scotland – Tuesday, 4 June 2024 , Barbados, 10:30 AM Local

vs Australia – Saturday, 8 June 2024 Barbados, 01:00 PM Local

vs Oman – Thursday, 13 June 2024 Antigua, 03:00 PM Local

vs Namibia – Saturday, 15 June 2024 , Antigua, 01:00 PM Local

Key player – Mark Wood

Despite not featuring in the business end of England’s successful 2022 campaign, Mark Wood left his mark on the tournament with his propensity to rattle up opposition batters.

Raw pace serves a dual purpose in Wood’s armour, helping extract that extra zip out of the wicket while also clouding the batter’s shot-making ability by reducing the time available for shot selection.

Namibia

Namibia qualified for the T20 World Cup on the back of a stellar run at the Africa Regional Qualifier stage. They were undefeated in the tournament, securing wins over six teams including co-qualifiers Uganda and Test-playing Zimbabwe. Success over Test nations isn’t a new phenomenon for the Eagles, who stunned Sri Lanka in the last edition of the T20 World Cup, and they’d like to repeat the feat in the upcoming event.

Squad

Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Michael Van Lingen, Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni, Niko Davin, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, JP Kotze, David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Malan Kruger, PD Blignaut

Fixtures

vs Oman – Sunday, 2 June 2024 Barbados, 08:30 PM Local

vs Scotland – Thursday, 6 June 2024 , Barbados, 03:00 PM Local

vs Australia – Tue, 11 June 2024 Antigua, 08:30 PM Local

vs England – Saturday, 15 June 2024 Antigua, 01:00 PM Local

Key player – David Wiese

Since making his international comeback with Namibia, David Wiese has been living the dream. The 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup will be his third consecutive tournament this decade, and the all-rounder will be raring to go in all departments on the field.

His hammer-and-tongs approach with the willow and clever assortment of cutters and slower balls have served the Eagles well and the burly all-rounder will look to light up Group B with his performances.

Oman

The sole Asian side in the group, Oman, carry a fair mix of tournament experience in their ranks. This will be their third appearance in the T20 World Cup, and the side would love to leave their mark with a good showing. Their opening encounter on 2 June against Namibia, a side they’ve defeated twice in the past, could set the tone for their tournament.

Squad

Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Rafiullah, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmad, Khalid Kail. Reserves: Jatinder Singh, Samay Shrivastava, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra

Fixtures

vs Namibia – Sunday, 2 June 2024 , Barbados, 08:30 PM Local

vs Australia – Wednesday, 5 June 2024 Barbados, 08:30 PM Local

vs Scotland – Sun, 9 June 2024 Antigua, 01:00 PM Local

vs England – Thursday, 13 June 2024 Antigua, 03:00 PM Local

Key player – Aqib Ilyas

Skipper Aqib Ilyas, a solid top-order batter and a top-draw spinner, will be key to Oman’s hopes in the T20 World Cup. He might be a newly appointed leader, but the presence of former captain, Zeeshan Maqsood, in the squad means that the all-rounder will have plenty of support on the field.

Aqib’s captaincy tenure has seen his numbers improve, with the batter averaging 42.5 at a strike-rate of 158.38, from his seven games.

Scotland

Richie Berrington’s Scotland have a number of players with a fair amount of global T20 cricket experience and will seek to bring that knowledge to best use in their group encounters in the West Indies.

The Scots have a proud cricketing history, which includes defeating neighbouring rivals England in ODI cricket in 2018. Their meeting on 4 June in Barbados will be the first-ever in T20I format, and Berrington’s side would be more than chuffed if they pull off a similar result to give their campaign a perfect start.

Squad

Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross, Brad Currie, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Jack Jarvis, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Charlie Tear, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal

Fixtures

vs England – Tuesday, 4 June 2024 Barbados, 10:30 AM Local

vs Namibia – Thursday, 6 June 2024 Barbados, 03:00 PM Local

vs Oman – Sunday 9 June 2024 Antigua, 01:00 PM Local

vs Australia – Saturday, 15 June 2024 St. Lucia, 08:30 PM Local

Key player – Mark Watt

Left-arm spinner Mark Watt has been Scotland’s go-to bowler for some time now. The tweaker makes good use of the crease, varying his delivery point depending on the batter and match situation, and fluctuates his speeds to keep the opponent guessing.

His spinning darters have stood up well against famed opponents, as showed against Sri Lanka and West Indies in last year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.

(ICC)

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Sports

Sri Lanka suffer second casualty, face Oman today

Published

1 hour ago

2026/02/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

Wanindu Hasaranga’s injury is a huge blow for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign has hit another pothole on a road already full of bumps after champion leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was ruled out of the tournament with a torn hamstring. The injury, sustained during Sunday’s opener against Ireland, leaves the former champions nursing a second casualty following young quick Eshan Malinga’s shoulder setback earlier this month. Fellow leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha has been drafted in as replacement.

Hasaranga, no stranger to the physio’s table, saw his troublesome left hamstring giving him worries after just one over on Sunday. He limped off, returned to soldier on, but the pain proved too sharp to grin and bear. Doctors expect a six-week lay off, a cruel blow for a side that leans heavily on his box of tricks. Hasaranga remains the only Sri Lankan bowler inside the ICC’s top-ten rankings for bowlers and his absence robs the attack bite.

Hemantha brings a handy bit of willow to the table, having featured in five ODIs and three T20Is, yet what Sri Lanka will truly miss is Hasaranga’s street-smart experience and big moment nerve.

While Colombo has been a hive of activity, the team have slipped into Kandy to fine tune their plans for today’s clash with Oman at Pallekele, followed by Monday’s heavyweight bout against Australia. The win over Ireland wasn’t all that convincing with middle over wobbles, playing spin and boundary drought concerning the team.

Questions swirl over team balance after Charith Asalanka was benched for the opener with pundits wondering whether he and Kamindu Mendis can be squeezed into the same XI. Kusal Perera, another man capable of clearing the ropes at will, has been reduced to water boy duties despite his late call up, adding to the selection conundrum.

Critics have also taken aim at Sri Lanka’s habit of fielding Test style batters in a format that demands dash and daring rather than dead bat defence.

On paper, Sri Lanka should have enough in the tank to see off Oman and even Zimbabwe, but Australia will be a different kettle of fish for a batting line-up short on swagger. Two wins from the remaining three games is the equation, anything less and the campaign could go belly up.

It will be an early 11am start at Pallekele today.

by Rex Clementine

Sports

Damesh hogs limelight, St. Anne’s win

Published

1 hour ago

2026/02/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

Under 19 Cricket

Damesh Mathishan hogged the limelight with a knock of 144 (139-ball) runs as his innings and a half century by Nethan Fernando (71) helped Isipatana post 325 for eight wickets declared (65.2 overs) against St. Joseph Vaz’s Wennappuwa (134/3) in the Under 19 Division I Tier B match at Colts ground on Wednesday.

‎

‎In the matches concluded on Wednesday,

‎St. Anne’s College Kurunegala (411/7) enjoyed the result most as they registered an innings and 97 runs win over St. Anthony’s Wattala (171 and 143). Manuja Wijerathna bagged six wickets in the Tier ‘B’ encounter at Kurunegala.

‎‎A five-wicket haul by Bihanga Silva was the highlight as Sri Sumangala, Panadura (245 & 17/2) forced Wesley (132 & 222/6dl.) to follow on in another Tier B match at Bandaragama. Wesley were better in the second innings but Sri Sumangala had first innings points in their bag.

‎‎Nethuja Basitha (5/59) and Minaga Ariyadasa shared nine wickets between them for Richmond (283 & 150/3) to record a first innings win over St. Anthony’s Katugastota (216) in the Tier ‘A’ match at Ambepussa. Ariyadasa then followed up his four wicket haul with a half century.

‎‎In a Tier ‘A’ match which started on Wednesday, Venura Kaveethra led the way with a four wicket haul for Mahanama to bowl out S. Thomas’ for 203 runs at Mount Lavinia. Mahanama were 69 for one wicket at stumps. (RF)