The main talking points ahead of the T20 World Cup
The futures of England head coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler could come under scrutiny.
The men’s T20 World Cup will be up for grabs again in June, the ninth edition of the tournament that debuted in 2007.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key issues in the run-up to a month-long festival of short-form cricket.
Pressure on England
Reborn in the USA?
Like a mid-90s Britpop band, cricket remains infatuated with the notion of ‘cracking’ America. By awarding co-hosting rights to its most marketable product, the International Cricket Council has now given itself half a chance. While the majority of the fixtures, including the semis and final, will be staged in the Caribbean, a total of 16 games will be held at grounds in Texas, New York and Florida. The curtain-raising clash between India and Pakistan alone will attract enormous viewing figures and energise the ex-pat communities of both countries. To make any kind of real impact the quality of the pitches and the size of the attendances must hold up, while the their own team need to turn in a respectable first-time performance.
India expects
Farewell tour
Underdogs on the big stage
Cricket has often been reluctant to open its doors beyond a select club of committed countries but has pinpointed T20 as the format to drive growth beyond its traditional heartlands. So, a few months on from a 10-team 50-over World Cup, there will be twice as many teams on the start line this time. A 20-team tournament makes it the biggest ever, up from 16 last time around, and there are plenty of outsiders looking to make a name. Among a raft of newcomers, Uganda pipped the likes of Zimbabwe and Kenya in the Africa Qualifier, Nepal and Oman added to the Asian contingent and Papua New Guinea took the solitary East-Asia Pacific spot ahead of Japan. Each will bring a host of human-interest stories and a dream of landing a shock result. The tournament – and the wider cricketing world – is crying out for one.
