Melbourne: Intermittent rain on Friday between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here was called off, making it difficult for both the teams to make it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. . The weather showed its best after the match between Afghanistan and Ireland at the MCG itself was washed out due to rain and the second match of the day also had to be cancelled.
Due to the cancellation of this match, both the teams got one point each but this has made their way to the semi-finals difficult. Only two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals. England have moved up to the second spot in the points table after two matches were washed out on Friday. Title contenders England lost to Ireland in a rain-affected Super 12 match, which is going to cost them a lot.
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Group I of Super 12 now has three points each as four teams but while the rest of the teams have played three matches, the top-ranked New Zealand have played only two matches. Australia also have three points but are fourth behind Ireland on net run rate. Barring the India-Pakistan match, all other matches at the MCG were affected by rain. Australia captain Aaron Finch said, “I have seen this stadium so wet for the first time. There was a real issue regarding the run up and the inside circle. This area was very wet. The safety of the players was important. We saw how a Zimbabwean player slipped.
Regarding the condition of Matthew Wade infected with Kovid-19, Finch said, “If the match had taken place today, it would have been in the playing XI. He had few symptoms but was fit to play.” England captain Jos Buttler also expressed his disappointment over the failure of the match. “It would have been a huge opportunity,” Butler said. The stadium would have been packed for the match against Australia. This is the big match of your career. Really very disappointed to not play the match tonight.”
After starting their campaign with a shocking 89 runs in the first match against New Zealand, defending champions Australia made a strong comeback by defeating Sri Lanka in the second Super 12 match. England, who started off with a win over Afghanistan, had lost their previous match against Ireland by five runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method due to rain. (agency)