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Undermanned Australia get campaign going against dangerous Ireland
Australia are the last side to begin their T20 World Cup campaign and the late start plays heavily into their favour, given the injury issues they have had coming into the tournament.
They are already without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood after both were ruled out with injury, and Australia’s selectors have intriguingly not yet replaced Hazlewood in the 15 and will only have 13 to choose from for their opening match against Ireland with Tim David expected to miss the opening round as he continues to rehab his hamstring injury.
Had the first match been any earlier, there may have also been doubts on Nathan Ellis coming off a hamstring concern and Adam Zampa, who experienced some groin tightness in the last T20I of the tour of Pakistan a fortnight ago, which Australia lost 3-0.
Australia are also struggling for form, having been hammered in Pakistan despite many of them coming from the BBL. However Ellis, David and Glenn Maxwell were all absent from that trip while many of the World Cup squad only played one or two games in the series at most. The change in conditions will challenge them, as will Ireland’s spinners George Dockerell and Gareth Delany after both bowled well against Sri Lanka.
Ireland themselves will feel under some pressure after butchering a chance to beat Sri Lanka in Colombo in their tournament opener. They dropped seven catches and gave up 59 runs from their final four overs with the ball. They were 105 for 2, albeit with the required run-rate climbing, but lost 8 for 38 to lose the game by 20 runs.
In theory, Ireland have the advantage of being a slightly unknown quantity to Australia. The two teams have only met twice in T20Is and only once in all international cricket since 2016. They played at the Gabba in the 2022 T20 World Cup and eight of the Ireland XI that played against Sri Lanka played in that game too. However, Australia may only have four players in their XI who played four years ago, with a number of retirements and injuries changing the formation of Australia’s team.
The only other time the two teams met in the shortest format was in the 2012 T20 World Cup in Colombo. Paul Stirling, Dockrell and Maxwell all played in that game.
Can Glenn Maxwell go to the well one more time to produce a stunning World Cup for his nation? Given he turns 38 this year, it seems unlikely that he will play another one for Australia, having already retired from ODI cricket. But since a match-winning 62 not out against South Africa last August, he has had a very lean run in all T20s. In eight innings in the BBL when he got past 3 he remained unbeaten, but that only happened three times with a highest score of 39 not out. His bowling will also be vital in the tournament as he will likely be the lone spinning allrounder in the top seven for most of the event.
Ireland need skipper Paul Stirling to set the tone at the top of the order, particularly against an inexperienced new-ball attack for Australia. His returns have also been lean in recent times with scores of 21, 29, 38, 0, 23, 45, 8, 14, and 6 in his last nine T20Is, striking at just 125.17. His 6 off 13 against Sri Lanka was not the start to the tournament he or Ireland were hoping for.
Australia appear set to play two specialist spinners in Matt Kuhnemann and Zampa. It will mean one of Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis will miss out. There is another option Australia could take with Cooper Connolly playing at No. 8 to lengthen the batting, but that appears unlikely based on form. David’s absence will likely give Matt Renshaw a chance in the middle order. The combination of the top seven is likely to be fluid with the potential of elevating Maxwell early against spin.
Australia (probable): Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wk), Matt Renshaw, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett/Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Matt Kuhnemann, Adam Zampa
There could be a temptation to bring in left-arm seamer Josh Little, who bowled very well against Australia four years ago, but he has gone wicketless in his last four T20Is. Ireland will more than likely remain unchanged given catching was the major issue against Sri Lanka.
Ireland (probable): Paul Stirling (capt), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Ben Calitz, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys
[Cricinfo]
Latest News
Breakdown of the teams and groups of the FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US after the final playoffs
Iraq’s qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 has completed the lineup of 48 nations for the tournament hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The Lions of Mesopotamia edged Bolivia 2-1 on Tuesday to win the second final of the FIFA Playoff tournament in Mexico. In the first final earlier, Democratic Republic of the Congo beat Jamaica 1-0.
In the other games, Turkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden and Czechia were the final four teams to complete the European quota of World Cup qualification.
Widely considered the most famous sporting event in the world, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be its biggest ever. Forty-eight nations will play instead of the usual 32, with 104 matches in 16 venues across the three host nations.
Argentina will look to defend the trophy lifted by iconic captain, Lionel Messi at Qatar 2022. Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan will make their debut.
The World Cup’s first game will be a throwback to 2010 when Mexico take on South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City in a replay of the tournament opener then. Football fans will hope the opening goal this year matches the screamer scored by Lawrence Tshabalala from the South African hosts then.
Mexico in group A – which includes South Korea and Czechia – will be one of the toughest of the 12 groups.
Team USA are alongside Australia, Paraguay and Turkiye.
Canada, too, face the challenging task of making it out of a group comprising Switzerland, Qatar and Bosnia.
Here’s a breakdown of the 48 teams in the 12 groups:
Group A:
- Mexico
- South Korea
- South Africa
- Czechia
Group B:
- Canada
- Switzerland
- Qatar
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group C:
- Brazil
- Morocco
- Scotland
- Haiti
Group D:
- USA
- Australia
- Paraguay
- Turkiye
Group E:
- Germany
- Ecuador
- Ivory Coast
- Curacao
Group F:
- Netherlands
- Japan
- Tunisia
- Sweden
Group G:
- Belgium
- Iran
- Egypt
- New Zealand
Group H:
- Spain
- Uruguay
- Saudi Arabia
- Cape Verde
Group I:
- France
- Senegal
- Norway
- Iraq
Group J:
- Argentina
- Austria
- Algeria
- Jordan
Group K:
- Portugal
- Colombia
- Uzbekistan
- DRC
Group L:
- England
- Croatia
- Panama
- Ghana
[Aljazeera]
A total of 365 US service members have been wounded in action since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, according to figures released by the Pentagon.
They come from the following divisions:
- Army – 247
- Navy – 63
- Marines – 19
- Air Force – 36
The death toll remains at 13, according to the figures.
[BBC]
The head of Italy’s football federation (FIGC) has resigned, falling on his sword after the men’s national team failed to qualify for a World Cup for a third consecutive time.
Gabriele Gravina revealed he would step down as the country’s top football official following a meeting held at the FIGC’s headquarters in Rome on Thursday.
His announcement came a day after Sport Minister Andrea Abodi called on him to resign.
Four-time World Cup winners Italy fell at the playoffs again on Tuesday, this time after a penalty shootout against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will miss this year’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The shock waves of the latest humiliation for one of the world’s most successful football nations forced Gravina, 72, to go back on his initial plans to wait until a FIGC board meeting next week to announce a decision on his future.
The FIGC said in a statement that a vote for a new president would be held on June 22.
Giovanni Malago, the former longtime head of the Italian National Olympic Committee who was president of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics organisation committee, is reportedly one of the names in the hat.
Before then, head coach Gennaro Gattuso is expected to also step down, while general manager Gianluigi Buffon, the former Italy goalkeeper, announced his resignation on Thursday.
Italy’s failure to reach the first-ever 48-team World Cup – which will feature the likes of Cape Verde and Curacao – led Abodi to release a statement saying: “It’s clear that Italian football needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and that starts with changes at the top of the FIGC.”
[Aljazeera]
Breakdown of the teams and groups of the FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US after the final playoffs
365 US service members injured since start of Iran war – Pentagon
World Cup 2026: Italy’s football chief resigns after qualifying failure
Iran says it downed two US jets as search for one pilot continues
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