England have safely weathered rocky roads and considerable rain to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, but could the weather once again be the downfall of Jos Buttler’s side?
England were on the brink of elimination after their opening match against Scotland in Barbados was rained out and then they lost to Australia, but they turned their fortunes around to slip into the Super Eight and ultimately secure a place in the last four.
However, the weather forecast for the semi-final against India in Guyana on Thursday is again poor. Live coverage on Sky Sports Cricket From 3pm (first ball 3:30pm) – So what does it mean for England’s title defence hopes? We try to analyse it all…
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Live
Thursday, June 27th, 3pm
What are your predictions for England’s semi-finals?
As of Tuesday, Guyana’s weather forecast for Thursday indicated “thunderstorms turning into heavy rain by late morning,” with a 60 percent chance of rain, according to the weather service.
Guyana hosted five matches in the first group stage of the tournament, with the last one being played two weeks ago on June 8, but there were no rainouts.
As for the first semi-final match between South Africa and Afghanistan in Trinidad on Wednesday night, Live coverage on Sky Sports Cricket From 1am on Thursday (first ball 1.30am) – when the match is scheduled to take place – the Met Office is predicting “light rain early in the evening, changing to sunny spells”.
Rain forced the cancellation of England’s opening group match against Scotland in Barbados.
What are the rules if it rains?
There is no reserve day for the second semi-final between England and India but 250 minutes of extra time have been set aside to complete the match on the scheduled date.
This means that if the matches cannot be completed due to inclement weather, India will advance by taking the lead in the Super 8 pool.
The first semi-final, between Group 2 leaders South Africa and Afghanistan, will be played in Trinidad on Wednesday night, with Thursday considered a reserve day.
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T20 World Cup Group 1 match highlights: Afghanistan beat Bangladesh to progress to their first ever semi-final, where they will face South Africa.
Section 13.6.2.1 of the ICC’s tournament conditions of competition states: “The final on 29 June will have a reserve date on 30 June. Extra time will be added to each of the semi-final matches to complete a total of 250 minutes of play.”
“For the first semi-final on June 26th, 60 minutes of game time will be provided at the conclusion of play that day, with the remaining 190 minutes scheduled for 2 p.m. on June 27th. The additional 250 minutes for the second semi-final, scheduled for June 27th, will be utilized to extend game time on the scheduled date, if necessary.”
Why is England in the second semi-final?
It was previously decided that if India made it to the final four of the tournament, they would play in the second semi-final as that would be a more convenient time for the domestic television audience (8 pm Indian time).
None of India’s matches in the tournament started at the scheduled time for the first semi-final (6 am Indian time).
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Highlights from St Lucia: Rohit Sharma scores 92 off 41 balls as India beat Australia and reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
India won Group 1 of the Super 8 tournament and England were runners-up in Group 2, ensuring India’s place in the second semi-final.
What do the experts say? “I don’t think it’s ideal at all.”
Sky Sports Michael Atherton: “The semi-final between England and India will not be a rain-or-shelter match. If it rains during the match, the team that finishes first in their group will advance.”
“The whims of tournament organizers have put pressure on the tournament organizers, resulting in the two semi-finals being played under slightly different rules and regulations.”
“Secondly, we knew from the beginning that India would be going to Guyana for the semi-final so we could plan for that. The logistics were already in place for Indian supporters to get a chance to go to Georgetown…England fans won’t get that chance because it’s too late now.”
“I knew one team was going to get to the semi-finals and I don’t think that’s ideal at all.”
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Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain discussed whether England have finally fielded their strongest line-up for the semi-final against India.
Sky Sports Nasser Hussain: “You can’t have two semi-finals with different playing conditions, one with rain and the other without rain.
“The first match will effectively be played over two days – a day and a half. The second match between England and India will be played over a full day, which means the most they can get back is 250 minutes.”
“We arrived at 8am for a 10.30am (local time) start time and were trying to finish the game until 10pm at night.
“The second semi-final will begin at 10.30am as players, teams and officials have to fly to Barbados for the final on Saturday.”
“It was given to India because of the Indian television audience, which is the ICC’s largest audience. [International Cricket Council]Not just in India, but in Bangladesh, Pakistan and in that part of the world too.
“In my opinion, the first half of the tournament was a bit plodding with long gaps. We could have spaced the matches out a bit more, rather than just having one day between the second semi-final and the final, which really matters.”
Has anything similar happened to you before?
The Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 semi-final match between England and India has been cancelled due to rain.
The England women’s team was eliminated from the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup after their semi-final against India was cancelled due to heavy rain in Sydney.
Again, no reserve date was set and India qualified for the final as group leaders, while England finished as group runners-up after losing their opening match to South Africa.
England captain Heather Knight could only watch on as rain forced the match to be abandoned during the semi-final against India in the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup.
Hosts and eventual winners Australia (who finished runners-up behind India) looked destined for the same fate, with the semi-finals and final being played on the same day at the same venue, but the clouds cleared and they beat South Africa to progress to the final.
How did England get to the semi-finals?
A rain-out against Scotland and a defeat to Australia put England’s hopes of progressing to the Super Eights in jeopardy, but they then dominated Oman, restricting them to 47 in the semi-final before taking the lead off just 19 balls and, crucially, finishing with a better net run rate than Scotland.
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Highlights from England’s win over Oman in the T20 Cricket World Cup, as they stormed to 48 runs behind in just 3.1 overs in Antigua.
The team then beat Namibia in rain in Antigua and, despite initial fears that the tournament would be cancelled, won a 10-over encounter at DLS with ease by 41 runs.
Despite the winning streak, Buttler’s Australia were banking on a win against Scotland in the final game and so they must have been nervous when Scotland led 180-5 while batting first, and even more so when chasing Australia needed 89 with seven overs remaining before the 2021 champions finally claimed a commanding victory with two balls to spare.
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Highlights from England’s win against the West Indies in the T20 Cricket World Cup.
Slipping into the Super 8, England produced their best performance of the tournament to beat hosts West Indies by eight wickets to claim a genuine victory, with Phil Salt scoring a not-scored 87 off 47 balls to help England reach the challenging target of 181 with 15 balls remaining.
They lost to South Africa by seven runs, despite a late revival from Harry Brook (53 off 37) and Liam Livingstone (33 off 17) that saw South Africa threaten to win.
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Highlights from England’s 10-wicket thrashing of USA to reach the T20 World Cup semi-finals
England therefore needed a big win over the USA to ensure a place in the semi-finals and they lived up to that expectation as Chris Jordan took the England Men’s team’s first ever T20 International hat-trick before Buttler (83 off 38) smashed them for 116 in 10 overs to take all 10 wickets and propel them into the top four.
When are the semi-finals and finals?
Thursday, June 27
- Semi-Final #1 – South Africa vs Afghanistan, Talubba, Trinidad and Tobago (1:30 AM)
- Semifinal #2 – India vs EnglandProvidence, Guyana (3:30 p.m.)
Saturday, June 29
- Final – Bridgetown, Barbados (3:30pm)
Every match of the T20 World Cup will be shown live on Sky Sports, including the final in Barbados on Saturday 29 June.
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