3 months ago
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Bangladesh’s unceremonious, precocious withdrawal from the T20 World Cup not lone paved a mode for Scotland’s introduction into Group C but has besides eased the West Indies and England’s paths to the Super Eights.
As the lone 2 Full Member nations successful the reckoning, West Indies and England are the overwhelming favourites. The different teams successful the radical are Nepal and debutant Italy.
England’s 4-1 drubbing astatine the hands of India past January forced the 2022 champion to clasp the high-octane template of the format.
Under Harry Brook’s charge, England has scored astatine 11.39 runs per implicit successful the PowerPlay since April 2025, outdoing adjacent India and Australia, who started this inclination of throwing caution to the wind.
Key man
Phil Salt has been a lynchpin successful this attack with a onslaught complaint successful excess of 172, and an mean of 43.
Veteran leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who volition astir most apt instrumentality his last bow astatine this World Cup, is inactive England’s astir prolific bowler. He’s nabbed 23 wickets since the past World Cup astatine an system of conscionable 8.47.
The outlook is not arsenic promising for the Caribbean outfit. Only 1 Full Member squad — Ireland — has fared worse than West Indies successful this World Cup cycle. The Caribbean broadside has won conscionable 13 of its 40 games since July 2024.
Romario Shepherd is the undisputed match-winner for the two-time erstwhile champion, and has chipped successful with some the bat and shot — 35 wickets and 442 runs — since July 2024. West Indies tin besides trust connected Akeal Hosein, whose inventive change-ups person been a revelation for the creation of dilatory left-arm orthodox bowling. Mixing up his deliveries, Hosain has 35 wickets since July 2024 astatine an system of nether seven. However, the problems outweigh the metallic linings.
A tally complaint of little than eight-an implicit successful the PowerPlay since July 2024 does not overgarment a promising picture. Shai Hope has been the astir prolific batter astatine No. 3, but could bash with speeding up his accumulation of runs (137). Shimron Hetmyer, meanwhile, has a steadfast onslaught complaint of (176.79) but inconsistency and constricted measurement (320 runs astatine 22.85) person blunted his impact.
Another predicament awaiting the West Indies is uncovering a spinner to onslaught successful tandem with Hosein. Its gait unit, different than Jason Holder, is inactive inexperienced and Alzarri Joseph not making the chopped owed to wounded lone adds to its woes.
Nepal connected the prowl
Playing drawback up astatine the World Cup tin beryllium a risk-laden proposition for the West Indies, particularly with Nepal, which astir defeated South Africa past time, successful the fray. It volition beryllium connected the prowl again, hoping that a giant-killing would yet person satellite cricket of however adjacent it is to the precocious echelon.
Italy, meanwhile, volition besides fancy its chances of going backmost with a win. It had defeated Scotland by 12 runs successful the European qualifiers, and the 2 person been pitted unneurotic again.
It prepared for the World Cup with a three-match bid against Ireland, and got a sensation of however beingness without Joe Burns would look like. The erstwhile Australia batter had been cardinal done the qualifiers, but volition not diagnostic astatine the World Cup owed to a contractual dispute.
