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

Athapaththu and Dilhari muscle Sri Lanka past Malaysia in mismatch

Published

16 hours ago

2026/09/19

Thilina Walpola

Kavisha Dilhari scored a quick unbeaten 44 and then picked up two wickets [Asian Cricket Council]

The quarter-finals of the Asian Games women’s competition, putting top-notch teams against teams without much experience of playing at the highest level, were expected to be mismatches. It took till the third game – Bangladesh vs China was washed out and Thailand gave Pakistan a fright for a proper one-side affair, though, as Sri Lanka bashed 160 after opting to bat, and their bowlers then stopped Malaysia 86 runs short.

Fresh off their appearance in the final of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup, Sri Lanka were always expected to dominate, but it didn’t quite start the way they wanted, with Imesha Dulani run out for another low score in the third over – she hasn’t topped 25 in eight innings since her century against Pakistan on July 31.

Chamari Athapaththu, however, stitched together an 80-run stand off just 53 balls with Hasini Perera for the second wicket, scoring 56 runs in 27 balls to Perera’s 23 in 26 in the collaboration. After the two batters fell, Kavisha Dilhari played a similar role to Athapaththu in the stand with Harshitha Samarawickrama, scoring 36 in 19 in a stand worth 62 in 37 balls.

Athapaththu top-scored with 63 in 37 balls, while Dilhari’s unbeaten 44 came off just 27 balls. For Malaysia, offspinner Nurin Imanina impressed with 3 for 29 from her four overs, picking up all the wickets to fall to bowlers.

In reply, Malaysia were three down inside the powerplay, with Dilhari picking up two of the wickets to fall on her way to returns of 2 for 4 from three overs. Athapaththu chipped in with two wickets of her own to finish with 2 for 3 from two overs, while Mithali Ayodhya got 2 for 15 from three.

It’s not like there was no resistance from Malaysia: Winifred Duraisingam scored 28, though it took her 47 balls to do it, while Mahirah Izzati Ismail scored 24, another slow effort, taking her 42 balls.

Scores:

Sri Lanka Women 160 for 4 in 20 overs (Athapaththu 63, HasinMithali Ayodhya 2-15i Perera 23, Kavisha Dilhari 44*, Harshitha Samarawickrema 25; Nurin Imanina 3-29) beat Malaysia Women 74 for 7 in 20 overs (Winifred Duraisingam 28, Mahirah Izzati Ismail 24; Mithali Ayodhya 2-15, Kavisha Dilhari 2-04, Chamari Athapaththu 2-03, ) by 86 runs

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Tharanga targets Olympic record

Published

16 hours ago

2026/09/19

Thilina Walpola

Rumesh Tharanga

Champion javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga has set his sights on Arshad Nadeem’s Olympic record at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Speaking at a public event with just days ahead of his departure to the Asian Games where he is set to meet the reigning Olympic champion Nadeem, Tharanga explained his future plans.

‎While revealing his plans to continue competing until the 2036 Olympics in India, Tharanga said that he would aim at Nadeem’s Olympic record at the next edition in Los Angeles in 2028.

‎Nadeem’s Olympic record stands at 92.97 metres. Tharanga is set to meet the Olympic champion once again this season at the Asian Games in Japan where he is Sri Lanka’s brightest medal prospect in individual events.

‎Speaking at a public event, Tharanga said he plans to compete at three Olympic Games — Los Angeles in 2028, Brisbane in 2032 and the 2036 Games in India — before retiring from international athletics.

‎”I will participate in the 2028 Olympic Games and the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. I intend to retire after the 2036 Olympic Games in India,” Tharanga said.

‎His main target, however, is the Olympic record.

‎Tharanga said he intends to surpass the 92.97-metre mark set by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem when he won the Olympic title at the Paris 2024 Games.

‎”My next focus is on securing an Olympic record at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles,” he said.

‎”I believe I can achieve an average above 90 metres in Los Angeles. My main focus is on setting an Olympic record,” he added.

‎Tharanga’s declaration comes after a remarkable rise in the international arena, with the Sri Lankan establishing himself among the world’s leading throwers.

‎With Los Angeles now firmly in his sights, Tharanga is targeting a performance that would take the Olympic javelin record beyond the 92-metre barrier — before embarking on his final two Olympic campaigns in Brisbane and India. (RF)

Latest News

Charani, Shafali power India past Japan and into Asian Games semi-finals

Published

1 day ago

2026/09/18

Priyan

[File pic] Shree Charani finished with figures of 4 for 10 [Cricinfo]

Defending gold-medal winners India overcame hosts Japan by eight wickets in the fourth quarter-final of the women’s cricket competition at the Asian Games in Nisshin on Friday. India chased down 58 in five overs to comfortably secure their place in the semi-finals. They will now face Bangladesh on September 20.

Japan did not exit the competition empty-handed. Their effort to bat as close to the full 20 overs as possible, their running between the wickets and their fielding effort were big positives. But they were bowled out for 57 in 19.5 overs after a solid start, leaving India with little to chase.

India, who opted to field, made the most of a pitch offering turn and bounce, which made stroke-making difficult for Japan. Shree Charani led the attack with another four-wicket haul, continuing an impressive run after taking 4 for 20 in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final. She struck twice off consecutive balls in the seventh over, removing opener Haruna Iwasaki for 10 before having captain Mai Yanagida caught behind for a duck, but couldn’t convert it into a hat-trick.

Iwasaki and Ayaka Kato Stafford had put on 24 for the opening wicket, but Japan struggled to build partnerships once the stand was broken. Kato-Stafford top-scored with 25 off 47 balls, while Iwasaki made 10 off 22. Japan lost their last eight wickets for just 33 runs.

Charani finished with 4 for 10 from her four overs, while Shafali Verma took 2 for 13 and Deepti Sharma claimed 1 for 14.

Shrevanka Patil, returning to international cricket for the first time in three months after recovering from an ankle ligament injury suffered during the T20 World Cup in June, took 1 for 8 from 3.5 overs. Japan’s innings ended when Patil bowled Nonoha Yasumoto for a duck.

Chasing 58, Shafali opened the innings aggressively, smashing four boundaries in the first over to immediately put Japan under pressure. G Kamalini, who opened in place of Smriti Mandhana, and No. 3 Bharti Fulmali then threw their wickets away to fielders at long-on and point respectively. Left-arm seamer Yasumoto, who dismissed Kamalini, also delivered a wicket-maiden with the new ball.

Shafali finished the game with a six over long-on, staying unbeaten on 40 off just 15 balls. She struck six fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 266.66, as India won with 15 overs to spare.

Scores:
India Women 59 for 2 in 5 overs (Shafali Verma 40*, Richa Ghosh 12*; Nonoha Yasumoto 1-08, Ayaka Kato-Stafford 1-14) beat Japan Women 57 in 19.5 overs (Haruna Iwasaki 10, Ayaka Kato-Stafford 25; Shree Charani 4-10, Shreyanka Patil 1-08, Deepti Sharma 1-14, Shafali Verma 2-13) by eight wickets

[Cricinfo]