After a delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 16 nations finally get to go out to the UAE to compete for the ICC World T20 title, the biggest title in the 20 over format of the game in what should be a wonderful showcase for the shortest format.
West Indies smashed their way to the title in India five years ago and they will be targeting a repeat of that but there are 15 other nations who will all be looking to head home with the crown so West Indies have their work cut out to make a successful defence.
Recent Winners
2016 – West Indies
2014 – Sri Lanka
2012 – West Indies
2010 – England
2009 – Pakistan
2007 – India
The Format
Eight teams progress straight through to the Super 12 stage of the tournament with the other eight competing in the first round of the event. Those eight sides are split into two groups of four where everyone plays the other teams in their group. The top two from both groups make up the remaining four sides in the Super 12 round. The 12 teams are split into two groups of six with each team playing the other five in their group in a round robin format. The top two in each group go through to the semi-finals with the winners of those competing in the final in Dubai on November 14.
The Favourites
India were the inaugural winners of this tournament back in 2007 but their chances of winning the crown again have been hampered slightly by them needing to move this event away from their home country to the UAE. The flip side of that is their squad have all been playing in the Indian Premier League recently so they will be adjusted to the different conditions. There is definitely no weakness in the Indian personnel for this tournament but there wasn’t five years ago and they ran into the West Indies who were too good for them. One minor issue is just one or two fitness doubts over certain seamers but that aside India look worthy 11/4 favourites.
England are the 50 over world champions and they’ll be looking to complete the white ball double here. They were winners of this tournament back in 2010 so they know how to get the job done and are generally very good in the big matches. Where they might be found wanting here is with the bat with regards to these pitches not being particularly flat so England are going to need to be smart rather than smash everything out of the park. If they do that they have the bowling attack to be competitive but the longer the tournament goes on I just don’t see their batting flourishing.
West Indies are 13/2 shots to keep hold of their title. That isn’t going to be easy for them in these conditions though because I’m not convinced this tournament will be the six hitting bonanza that it was when they won in 2016. If it isn’t then their batsmen are going to have to change their game because they are not built to work singles, or at least it isn’t their strength. A lack of depth in the spin department might be another issue as well. If conditions do ease though and sixes come naturally West Indies will be major players.
New Zealand tend to go well in these global events whether the 50 over format or the 20 over one. They have never won this tournament though and while that is a negative, they probably play as well now as they have at any stage. One issue I have about them is whether the conditions will suit their batting line up. There might be one or two too many who like pace on the ball. Sending a second string side to Bangladesh recently didn’t strike me as ideal at the time and with a few of their players having not had much cricket recently that is a concern.
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Contenders
Australia have never got their hands on this title before and they are 7/1 to rectify that. They have a good artillery of seam bowlers but whether that is what is needed remains to be seen. One issue for Australia is going to be the pitches. They are not going to suit their batsmen and we saw in Bangladesh that when the ball is turning they are nowhere near good enough to cope. I’m also not convinced they have the depth in the spin department so unless Glenn Maxwell has a brilliant tournament they are not for me.
Pakistan are potentially the sleepers in the field at 10/1. They have had the UAE as their base for the last decade or so which means they will know these conditions well. The negative comes in the fact that their players don’t get to play in the IPL so won’t be warmed up, particularly after both New Zealand and England sacked off their tours to Pakistan at the last minute. If Pakistan bat well you sense they have the attack to do some damage here and they should be considered dangerous dark horses.
South Africa come along as 14/1 shots for this tournament and while there is a clear weakness in their batting depth, there might not be a team who arrive here as active as they have been and also in the form that they have been in. The general consensus is that these pitches won’t suit South Africa but I’m not so sure and if their top order put up enough runs then they are entitled to be dangerous players throughout the competition themselves.
The other team who are through to the Super 12 is Afghanistan. On the face of it you would say they have got no chance but a team who have the spin attack they do in conditions which have just hosted the IPL might keep them in the game. The question mark over them would be whether they can bat well enough to get the job done against at least three of the better bowling attacks in the competition but if they can then they can be competitive at the very least.
Betting
There aren’t many teams at the head of this market that I like. You can actually pick holes in most of the teams in this competition in these conditions. The only one you probably couldn’t is India but they look a little short in the betting and have a tough first group to have to come through. I actually think the value in the competition is South Africa who can be backed at an attractive 14/1, which looks big when you consider they might be in the weaker of the two groups.
On the face of it a group with England, West Indies and Australia looks tough but actually England might not be effective in these conditions while Australia are unlikely to be too. West Indies could be hit or extremely miss so South Africa aren’t without a chance in this section to make it through to the last four. They have one of the best bowling attacks in the competition with Anrich Nortje very good and Kagiso Rabada right up there too. Tabraiz Shamsi has an excellent record in 2021 and there are other spinners who bowl well for South Africa. There is no getting away from the fact that South Africa are a batsman light but in a low scoring tournament they might just be able to overcome that and at 14/1 rank as a decent outside bet.
Tips
Back South Africa to win World T20 (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 with Betfair (1/3 1-2)
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