The 2018 ICC Men's World T20 is the seventh edition of the ICC Men's World T20 Tournament, set to take place in South Africa between 13th August and 16th September. The tournament will follow the rules of the previous edition with 16 teams taking part.
South Africa won the bid for hosting rights in a tight contest with the West Indies, who will be hosting the women's edition later in the year. It will be hosted across six venues in South Africa, with Johannesburg hosting the Final.
The West Indies are the defending champions, having won the previous edition in India in 2016.
In this Universe, the Asia Cup and CPL is postponed to November 2018 to clear the window for the World T20. All T20I Cricket played until then remains identical to real life.
Six Venues across South Africa have been chosen to host 45 matches across the tournament. New Wanderers in Johannesburg will host the final, with Cape Town & Durban hosting alternate semi-final games.
The top nine ranked nations in the Super 10 from the 2016 World T20, alongside hosts South Africa qualified directly to the tournament. The top eight ranked sides in the T20I Championship as of April 2018, qualified directly for the Super 12s, while the bottom two were placed in the group stages. The remaining six teams in the group stages qualified from the ICC World T20 Qualifier in May 2018.
Zimbabwe & Ireland were amongst the first sides to qualify from the qualifier, by finishing top of their groups, ranked 12th and 17th in the rankings respectively. They were then joined by Netherlands & Hong Kong, and finally Scotland & United Arab Emirates to fill the final berths.
Each team named a 15-member squad with a maximum of three optional travelling reserves before 5th August, 2018. Afghanistan were the first team to announce their squad, and Zimbabwe the last.
ICC Announce Men's World T20 for August, South Africa to Host
The International Cricket Council has announced that South Africa will host the official Men's World T20 in 2018, set to take place in August. The decision came to be finalised after a discussion with the ICC Cabinet regarding the winning bids for hosting the tournament. South Africa were the winners, beating the West Indies who are reported to host the Women's Edition that will take part after the Men's tournament.
South Africa last hosted the tournament in the inaugural edition in 2007 which saw India lift the title beating Pakistan in the final, in what turned out to be an extremely successful campaign to lift T20 cricket into popularity. Since then there have been five editions which have seen four different teams lift the trophy, held across five different countries. This will be the first edition to be held by a previous host. It is set to be hosted in many venues across the country, which are yet to be announced and confirmed by ICC and CSA.
ICC also have reportedly changed the Super 10 format to "Super 12s", featuring an extra two teams that qualify from the unaffected Group Stage round that kicks the tournament off. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next round which will feature two groups of six- the top two from these groups advancing to the Semi-Finals. The ICC insists on the expansion for the growth of associate and smaller nations on the biggest cricketing stage, imparting more emphasis to the first round games and significantly lifting the chances for each team to advance to the next round.
ICC Chairman highlights- "South Africa are fortunate to host this edition of the prestigious tournament that has brought the sport revenue and fame all over these years. The second round expansion resulting in an extended tournament will also be a fresh and bright change to look forward to. A lot of good cricket has been played since the last edition in 2016 and all the sides have gone through changes and a multitude of great players will be enthusiastic to feature in this edition. The International Calendar has been a bit tight this year but a window has been cleared in August-September to host this year's Major Cricket Event. All the best and good wishes for the teams who qualify and participate, and it's time for another deserving title-holder"
ICC Announce Six Venues for ICC World Twenty20 2018 in South Africa
The International Cricket Council has listed six cities across South Africa as the official venues for the 2018 ICC World Twenty20.
Cape Town
Durban
Johannesburg
Centurion
Paarl
Port Elizabeth
New Wanderers, Johannesburg has been chosen as the venue for the Final; while Newlands, Cape Town & Kingsmead, Durban will host alternate semi-finals. Boland Park, Paarl & St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth will host Group A and Group B in the preliminary stage respectively, and 2 Super 12 games each. Centurion Park, Centurion will host 7 games overall along with Durban and Cape Town, while Johannesburg will host the most with 8.
It is a privilege to host the prestigious tournament on our soil, says CSA chairman. "The venues chosen are reputed stadiums and the crowds will be hyped up for the big event happening after eleven years in this country. It is set to be a swashbuckling contest of the best teams around the world whom we will proudly host on our own soil"
WT20 Qualifier: Zimbabwe, Ireland through to 2018 World Twenty20
Test Nations Zimbabwe & Ireland are the first two of the teams through to the 2018 World T20 from the qualifier, which guarantees the final six berths for the 16-team tournament in August. This would fix their spots as the 11th and 12th confirmed team in the tournament, with 4 spots still left to be contested in the qualifiers playoffs.
They finished on top of their respective groups, earning them a spot in the Semi Finals of the qualifiers and a direct ticket to the World T20 without having to win any knockout games. They will play the winners of the preliminary knockout games between Scotland & Hong Kong and Netherlands & UAE, who will also be joining them in the World T20 2018 as the 13th and 14th teams upon victory. The last two spots will be decided in the 5th place playoff knockouts contested by the losing teams from these games and Nepal & Oman, who finished fourth in their respective groups.
Zimbabwe Captain Hamilton Masakadza says that it is indeed a proud moment for all Zimbabweans for the country to contest it out on African Soil after so long. After all the internal conflicts and troubles of the past year, it will be a fresh campaign to look after.
Irish skipper Gary Wilson also states that it is a great achievement for Ireland to qualify directly to the World T20 as one of the first two teams from the Qualifier. Says the competition was tough and the journey is not over, but they will be looking forward to the tournament after the disappointment in 2016, ready to take it up a notch.
WT20 Qualifier: Netherlands, Hong Kong through to the 2018 World T20
The Netherlands & Hong Kong are the 13th & 14th teams to advance to the 2018 World T20 respectively, after their victories in the Semi-Final Playoffs in the WT20 Qualifiers which confirm their berths in the tournament.
The Netherlands finished second to Zimbabwe in Group A with 4 wins in 6 games, losing only to the table-toppers and Nepal. They went on to beat UAE in the 1st semi-final playoff, who finished third in Group B. The men in orange chased down UAE's 140 in 18 overs; This ensures their place as the 13th team in the ICC World T20, and also sets up a fixture against Ireland in the Semi-Finals to battle it out for the spot in the qualifiers Finale. Meanwhile UAE will now go on to play Nepal in the 5th place playoff semi-finals to fight out for the last two spots in the tournament.
Hong Kong meanwhile finished third in Group A, winning 3 games and losing 3, the losses coming against Zimbabwe, Netherlands and Nepal. Their NRR helped them finish third, and despite being underdogs in the 2nd semi-final playoff, managed to overcome Scotland, 2nd place from Group B. They advanced to the Semi-Final against Zimbabwe and also became the 14th side to qualify to the World T20. Scotland, being among the favorites, will have to play Oman in the 5th place playoff semi-final to stay in contention for the World T20 berth.
Both the sides' skippers are happy with the performances, set to make their third consecutive WT20 appearance since the 16-team expansion. Scotland skipper urges team to regroup after failure to avoid another upset missing-out the tournament like 2014, while the Asian Trio of Oman, Nepal and UAE will be ever so eager to occupy those last two World T20 spots.
WT20 Qualifier: Scotland & UAE nail down final two spots in ICC World T20
Scotland & The United Arab Emirates complete the World T20 qualification process by being the 15th and 16th teams to qualify respectively. They join Zimbabwe, Ireland, the Dutch and Hong Kong as the 6 teams to advance to the tournament from the qualifiers.
Scotland managed to get the better of Oman in their playoff game, ending the latter's hopes and advancing to the World T20 themselves. Skipper Coetzer says it is relieving to be part of the big tournament, after a shaky going in the previous knockout games in the qualifiers. Heartbreak for Oman as Maqsood says it will be disheartening to not be part of the tournament following their rise over these few years.
UAE got through beating Nepal, two sides who didn't make it to the 2016 edition but participated in the previous- which was the first after expansion. Emirati skipper Rohan Mustafa states it is a proud moment for the team and fans to qualify for South Africa. They were happy to bounce back from the previous loss, while Nepal's dream run this year faces a screeching halt, after gaining ODI status for the first time earlier in the year.
With the six teams finalized for the tournament, ICC could release the groups and fixtures anytime, as the tournament looms on.
Groups Announced for ICC World Twenty20: India, Pakistan & Trans-Tasman Rivals to face off in the group stages
India, Pakistan clash returns in Group 2, Australia face off with NZ in Group 1
With the 16 teams confirmed for the World Twenty20, ICC have announced the Group Draws for the Super 12s and the Group Stages of the tournament, which as expected, will feature some historical match-ups as certainties.
Group A
Group B
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Zimbabwe
Ireland
Netherlands
Scotland
Hong Kong
United Arab Emirates
The Group Stage will feature auto-qualified teams Sri Lanka & Bangladesh on the virtue of ranking, along with Zimbabwe and Ireland as the other full members. Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe will contest in Group A along with Netherlands & Hong Kong while Bangladesh and Ireland will be part of Group B alongside Scotland & UAE. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next round based on the new format, heightening the hopes for the associates. The groups have been drawn based on seedings loosely based off rankings and past WT20 performances.
Group 1
Group 2
Australia
Pakistan
New Zealand
India
South Africa
England
Afghanistan
West Indies
A1
B1
B2
A2
The Awaited Indo-Pak Clash returns to the WT20 in Group 2, the two teams also grouped with England & West Indies. This means we will be missing out on the historic Ashes Rivalry, while Australia will still take on Trans Tasman rivals New Zealand in Group 1 along with hosts South Africa & Afghanistan. Further, the newly introduced Super 12 format assures two more teams to join each group from the preliminary rounds. Group 1 will feature the Top team from Group A and the second placed team from Group B, and Group 2 the Topper of Group B and second finish of Group A. 15 matches per group will be played, for a total of 30 games in the Super 12s Stage.
Quite a competitive draw, seems to be the verdict from fans. ICC have also confirmed to be finalising the fixtures, and it might be out anytime now that the groups are released. ICC CEO states it is gearing up to be a big success, with the new format and Super 12 expansion, and with the growing interest in T20 cricket, it might be the biggest of all the editions so far.
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