Australia won the 50 over World Cup at the back end of 2023 and over the next month or so we will find out who the kings of the 20 over game are when 20 nations head to the USA and Caribbean for the T20 World Cup.
England are the current top dogs in this format of the game but an extended tournament could create difficulty in making a successful defence of the title with more sides wanting a piece of the action throughout June.
Recent Winners
2022 – England
2021 – Australia
2016 – West Indies
2014 – Sri Lanka
2012 – West Indies
2010 – England
2009 – Pakistan
2007 – India
The Format
We have a completely different format for the tournament for this staging. The event has been extended to 20 teams who are placed into four groups of five in the opening round of the event. They play each other once in a round robin with the top two heading into the Super Eights where two groups of four are put together. They again play each other once in a round robin with the top two in those sections going through to the semi-finals. The two semi-final winners meet in the final in Barbados on June 29.
The Favourites
India go into the tournament as the favourites to win it but they haven’t got their hands on this trophy since 2007 and they have only reached the final once in that time. You would have thought that they would be better equipped to win the 50 over competition on soil last year but having failed to do that, the more unreliable nature of T20 results might make them vulnerable in this competition, especially as they would go into the tougher Super Eights group. This isn’t the IPL and so India aren’t for me.
Australia are looking to emulate England and hold the 20 and 50 over competitions at the same time. Their win in India in the 50 over tournament was in conditions which wouldn’t usually suit but they should be more accustomed to delivering in this part of the world and were the finalists here the last time this tournament was staged in the Caribbean. Australia wouldn’t be in the tougher Super Eights group and a side who has been able to leave the likes of Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short, Sean Abbott and Riley Meredith at home have to be taken seriously.
England are the third favourites to make a successful defence of their title. They were the winners the last time the tournament was held in this part of the world and are one of only two countries to have won this thing twice so there is already plenty to like about England. Their explosive batting is likely to be a real advantage on these grounds but the flip side of that is their bowling could go the distance and were Jofra Archer or Mark Wood get injured there is a flimsy look to the seam attack in particular. They might need spin to be king in this tournament to get the job done.
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The Contenders
West Indies are the other nation to have won this tournament twice and you get the feeling they have been waiting for this competition to come along for a while. I say that for two reasons. They are one of the best teams in the T20 format but their batting style hasn’t been suited by the big grounds the last two World Cups have been played on but these venues are perfect for them. They didn’t even qualify for the 50 over World Cup last year so they have been able to focus all their attention on peaking for this event and now is the time for them to deliver. They can destroy anyone with the bat and if their bowling holds up they’ll take some stopping.
South Africa and tournament play rarely go together and it certainly doesn’t in this competition here they have never made the final in the eight previous stagings of the event. There is a school of thought that they have their best chance to go big in this tournament here because the likes of Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs put the fear into the bowlers and there are some decent bowlers for Aidan Markram to call upon. If they can put history behind them and focus on the here and now then there is no reason why South Africa can’t at least make the knockout stages and look to go two steps further.
New Zealand have gone SF-F-SF in the last three T20 World Cup tournaments so on that they are entitled to be a threat here. Whenever a competition comes along people always pick their weaknesses out but they never seem to come to fruition and in the end a talented squad comes together and performs above themselves. This New Zealand squad has the likes of Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult in it and if they perform and the support cast around them chip in too then they can once again be around once the group stages of the event comes to a close.
Betting
Two sides catch my eye at the prices for this tournament and as luck would have it they are both in the same group so hopefully they can be the two which comes out of it. The hosts West Indies are the first team I like at 7/1. I mentioned above that the UAE and Australia never suited their aggressive, hit everything for six batting approach but there isn’t a ground in this tournament that will be able to contain any of their top eight so I expect West Indies to really enjoy themselves here. The question mark is whether they have the quality with the ball, especially the spin department, but they have one of the smartest minds the game has seen coaching them in Daren Sammy and he will get them motivated and give them good plans. West Indies showed their danger with three convincing wins over South Africa in the week or so leading up to the tournament and have the likes of Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell and Andre Russell to come into the side. They could quickly turn into the team to beat here.
The other team I think can go well in this tournament are Afghanistan. They performed better than many expected them to in the 50 over World Cup and had it not been for an incredible knock from Glenn Maxwell they might have reached the semi-final. I think they are kitted out for a big competition in these conditions though. The wickets will suit the aggressive batters that they have, a number of whom have been regulars in the Caribbean Premier League, while the slower wickets bring their spinners right into play. They have a couple of potent seamers at both ends of the innings so if their batting holds up and they finish innings well with the willow in hand, Afghanistan could be major spoilers at a price which is bordering on insulting.
Tips
Back West Indies to win T20 World Cup (e/w) for a 3/10 stake at 8.00 with Coral (1/2 1-2)
Back Afghanistan to win T20 World Cup (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 51.00 with Spreadex (1/2 1-2)
