Can Australia clinch their seventh T20 world title? Or will England bounce back again as favourites on home turf? Can India make it a double when it comes to women’s ICC titles?
The T20 World Cup begins on Friday with England opening versus Sri Lanka in Birmingham. A lot will depend on Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, the livewire of their batting.
Twelve teams have been divided into two groups of six each. In the group stage, teams will face each other in a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semis.
Since the last edition, Australia have played only 12 T20Is, winning 10. India have played the most T20Is among the higher-ranked teams, winning 14 of their 24 matches. England are not far behind, having won 12 of their 20 T20Is. South Africa and defending champions New Zealand have played 21 and 17 matches, and won 10 and nine, respectively.
Without a world title to defend for the first time in nearly a decade, the formerly all-conquering Aussies will face a different kind of pressure to what they are otherwise used to.
Australia are already fretting over key batter Phoebe Litchfield’s fitness. She has been a notable absentee during their recent warm-up fixtures.
The Aussies play their opener against the Proteas on Saturday and coach Shelley Nitschke believes Litchfield will be fit to feature in that crucial encounter. “Yeah, we hope so,” Nitschke said. “She had some quad awareness and so was left out of these two games.”
Some are already betting on an India versus Australia final at Lord’s on July 5.
If the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side hold their nerves at crucial stages, in what is being termed as an open tournament, will decide their fate.