That’s it for today’s blog, but you can follow England v South Africa with Tim. Thanks for your company and emails, ta-ra!
Good news for Australia: England have won the toss and will bowl first
Dew is often a big factor at Sharjah, so that’s potentially a huge advantage to England. Don’t quote me on this, but Australia will play Pakistan in the second semi-final in Dubai on Thursday.
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When you are dismissed by Universe Boss. 😅😅 #T20WorldCup #AUSvWI pic.twitter.com/qKDVM40Ni1
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) November 6, 2021
We don’t know the exact permutations yet*, but South Africa will have to hammer England if they are to reach the semi-finals ahead of Australia. You can follow that game with the great Tim de Lisle.
* The commentator Mark Nicholas thinks South Africa would need to win by around 57 runs if they bat first, or reach their target in 12.3 overs if they are chasing.
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The Australian players form a guard of honour for Bravo and Gayle. They are the highest wicket-taker and run-scorer in T20 history, not that numbers do justice to the joy of watching them play.
Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, two of the true greats of T20 cricket, say their farewells - first to their teammates and then the Australian players when they walk onto the field. David Warner walks off, drenched in sweat and well and truly back in form. He was close to his best today, making 89 not out from 56 balls with nine fours and four sixes.
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AUSTRALIA WIN BY EIGHT WICKETS WITH 22 BALLS TO SPARE!
16.2 over: Australia 161-2 (Warner 89, Maxwell 0) Warner works Chase for four to complete an emphatic victory, one that should - should - be enough to put them in the semi-finals.
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16th over: Australia 157-2 (target 158; Warner 84, Maxwell 0) Marsh took Gayle’s gesture in the right spirit - the game is won, and Marsh played superbly to make 53 from 32 balls.
WICKET! Australia 157-2 (Marsh c Holder b Hayle 53)
Hahaha, Chris Gayle has taken one last wicket! With one run needed to win, Mitch Marsh blasted straight to mid-off. Gayle broke into a big smile and then ran after Marsh to jump on his back in celebration. Fantastic stuff.
15th over: Australia 150-1 (target 158; Warner 80, Marsh 53) Dwayne Bravo bowls his last over as a West Indies player. Warner picks a wide slower ball, runs across his stumps and switch hits it for four - and then he hoicks the next delivery into the crowd! This has been quite brilliant for Australia. Bravo’s final delivery is a loopy yorker that Warner drives for a single. Australia are eight runs from victory.
14th over: Australia 133-1 (target 158; Warner 69, Marsh 50) Everything is going Australia’s way. Marsh edges consecutive deliveries from Holder for four, and a single takes him to a terrific fifty from only 28 balls. It’s his first in the World Cup.
13th over: Australia 122-1 (target 158; Warner 68, Marsh 41) Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle are enjoying themselves in their final game (probably, in Gayle’s case) for the West Indies. Gayle can’t stop smiling, and Bravo is going through his repertoire of slower balls.
Warner continues Australia’s march to victory, and probably the semi-finals, by squirting a wide yorker for four. That’s another brilliant shot. I think it’s fair to say he’s back in form. Australia need 36 to win.
12th over: Australia 114-1 (target 158; Warner 62, Marsh 40) Warner is beaten for pace by Russell, yet still manages to flap a hook to fine leg for four. A single off the other five deliveries make it nine from the over. This is the dream scenario for Australia, whose net run-rate has had quite a makeover since they were trounced by England a week ago.
11th over: Australia 105-1 (target 158; Warner 55, Marsh 38) Bravo bowls a rare boundaryless over, including a lovely slower ball that beats Warner, but Australia are still cruising. Mitch Marsh has quietly raced to 38 from 21 balls.
10th over: Australia 98-1 (target 158; Warner 54, Marsh 33) Andre Russell comes into the attack. A single from Warner brings up a dominant, assured fifty partnership from 35 balls, and then Marsh picks Russell up for six to deep backward square. He timed that beautifully.
Another flick to the same area bounces through the fielder Hosein for four more, and Marsh makes it 14 from three balls with a squeeze to third man. This isn’t a run-chase, it’s a run-stroll, and it’s going perfectly for Australia. At this rate, South Africa will need snookers to reach the semi-final.
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9th over: Australia 82-1 (target 158; Warner 53, Marsh 18) Yeeha! Warner smashes Walsh over midwicket for a big six, his third of the innings. A two off the next ball brings up a skilful, impatient half-century from only 29 balls. Right here, right now, it looks like he is batting Australia into the semi-finals.
8th over: Australia 71-1 (target 158; Warner 43, Marsh 17) Marsh swaggers down the track to chip Hosein handsomely for six. Warner has a stroke of luck later in the over when a top-edged pull drops short of mid-on. Ten runs from the over; Australia need 87 from 72 balls. If they can get them in something like 50 balls, so much the better.
Warner is not out! He inside-edged a reverse sweep off Hosein onto the pad, and it pitched outside leg anyway.
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WEST INDIES REVIEW FOR LBW AGAINST WARNER! It’s a desperate review, I think he’ll be fine.
7th over: Australia 61-1 (target 158; Warner 41, Marsh 9) It’s time for the legspinner Hayden Walsh Jr, who bowled so well against Australia in the Caribbean recently. Marsh, whose T20 record against legspin isn’t the best, reverse-sweeps assertively for four. So far so good for Australia; if they keep this up they’ll have the opportunity to win with two or three overs to spare. That would make life very difficult for South Africa.
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6th over: Australia 53-1 (target 158; Warner 40, Marsh 3) Warner sweeps Hosein high over backward square leg for six, and then skids back in his crease to back cut for four. This is pure class from Warner, who has raced to 40 from 22 balls.
5th over: Australia 41-1 (target 158; Warner 29, Marsh 2) Dwayne Bravo comes into the attack. His first ball is full, slightly wide and launched over mid-off by Warner. He is batting seriously well. Bravo pulls it back thereafter, with only a couple of singles from the last five deliveries. Australia need 117 from 90 balls to win.
“Kudos for adding to the lexicon of batting terms with your reference to a ‘belaboured’ drive down the ground,” says Brian Withington. “Am I dimly recalling a passing Popeye reference?”
Well, I don’t know. You’ll have to ask your YouTube.
4th over: Australia 35-1 (target 158; Warner 24, Marsh 1) Good work from Hosein, who has figures of 2-0-7-1.
“I think Australia will struggle to make the target and win this match,” writes Lawrie Smith, “and so will be heavily dependent on the Eng vs SA result and the associated NRR.”
I think they’ll win this game, though I’m not certain that will be enough. The toss in the other match could be so important.
WICKET! Australia 33-1 (Finch b Hosein 9)
Aaron Finch goes! It was a good piece of bowling from Hosein, who looks a really decent find. Finch tried to dab a ball that drifted in a touch and was too tight for the shot. All Finch could do was drag it back onto the stumps.
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3rd over: Australia 33-0 (target 158; Warner 23, Finch 9) Brilliant stuff from Warner, who batters the new bowler Jason Holder for 16 from three balls. He drives Holder over mid-on, glides the ball just past the diving Pooran - that was very similar to his dismissal against England - and then launches a short ball over the ropes at wide long-on. He has 23 from 11 balls.
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2nd over: Australia 18-0 (target 158; Warner 9, Finch 8) Spin at both ends, with Roston Chase sharing the new ball. Warner, who looks busy even by his standards, makes room to thump a boundary through extra cover. And then Finch, who eats offspinners for brunch, batters four through mid-off.
An already expensive over from Chase gets worse when he oversteps, which means a free-hit for Finch. He drags it into the leg side for a single, which makes it 13 from the over.
1st over: Australia 5-0 (target 158; Warner 4, Finch 1) Warner is beaten first ball, flashing at a lovely delivery from Hosein that swerves away from the bat. It’s the start of a threatening first over from Hosein, who almost slips an inswinger through Finch later in the over. Finch just managed to drag his bat across in time. Five runs from the over.
The players are back out on the field. The left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein will open the bowling.
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I’d still fancy Australia to chase that target maybe seven times out of 10, but the chances of massaging their net run-rate have diminished. West Indies scored 58 from the last five overs.
20th over: West Indies 157-7 (Russell 18, Holder 1) Andre Russell finishes the innings with consecutive sixes! The first was a monstrous pull, 111 metres in fact, and then he belaboured a low full toss down the ground. Russell ends with 18 from seven balls, and Australia need 158 to win. Nobody said it was easy.
WICKET! West Indies 143-7 (Pollard c Maxwell b Starc 44)
Pollard lifts Starc miles in the air towards long-on, where Maxwell crouches to take a comfortable catch. Pollard made 44 from 31 balls, and there are four balls remaining.
19th over: West Indies 143-6 (Pollard 44, Russell 5) Andre Russell improvises smartly to flick his first ball, a leg-stump yorker from Cummins, past short fine leg for four. But that aside it’s another punishment-free over for Australia, with only three singles. Cummins finishes with 4-0-37-1.
18th over: West Indies 136-6 (Pollard 42, Russell 0) Pollard is looking pretty dangerous now. He works Hazlewood for two boundaries in three balls, and again keeps the strike with a single off the last ball. He has 42 from 27; Hazlewood finishes with 4-0-39-4, a fine comeback after his first over went for 19.
WICKET! West Indies 126-6 (Bravo c Warner b Hazlewood 10)
Dwayne Bravo has batted his last for the West Indies. He swiped a slower ball from Hazlewood down the ground, where Warner took an excellent running catch. He embraces Kieron Pollard, who takes off his gloves to applaud Bravo off the field, and then hugs the incoming Andre Russell. He has entertained us for so long - I can remember a delightful performance to beat India at the World T20 as long ago as 2009.
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17th over: West Indies 123-5 (Pollard 30, Bravo 10) Warner saves two runs with an outstanding diving stop at long-off, but he can do nowt when Pollard cuffs the next ball - a low full toss from Cummins - down the ground for four. Pollard top-edges a pull for six later in the over and keeps the strike with a single off the last ball. That’s West Indies’ best over since the second of the innings; 14 runs from it.
“I’ve just realised,” writes Robert Kirchhof, “that even if the Aussies win this game, the Poms could deliberately lose to the Saffas by a lot and kick us out of the tournament.”
I wouldn’t worry – there’s no chance Eoin Morgan would allow that. The big thing in that game is the toss. South Africa will be desperate to bat second: partly because of the conditions, partly because they will know exactly what they need to do to reach the semi-finals (if Australia win this game). It could end up with South Africa needing to score something like 142 in 16.2 overs to reach the semi-finals.
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16th over: West Indies 109-5 (Pollard 17, Bravo 10) Bravo is almost run out after being sent back by Pollard. The bowler Starc collected the throw and missed the stumps, but I think Bravo was home by then. He’d have been out with a direct hit though.
After a slow start, three from eight balls, Bravo gives his strike-rate a boost by driving Starc handsomely over wide mid-off for six. We’ve seen that shot so many times in the past 15 years.
15th over: West Indies 99-5 (Pollard 15, Bravo 2) Pollard lumbers down the track to Marsh, who sees him coming and beats him with a slower bouncer. Later in the over he smears the ball towards the non-striker Bravo, who jumps out of the way and throws his bat in the air. Five from the over. You can never sit comfortably against Pollard, Bravo and Russell, but for now Australia have this game under control.
14th over: West Indies 94-5 (Pollard 10, Bravo 2) Zampa hurries through his final over, conceding only two runs, and ends another classy, clever spell with figures of 4-0-20-1.
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13th over: West Indies 92-5 (Pollard 9, Bravo 1) The new batter is the retiring Dwayne Bravo. Australia are doing very well to restrict West Indies’ boundaries, with just three in seven overs since the Powerplay.
“Part of me worries that Australia are on an upward curve and growing with confidence as the tournament progresses,” writes every England fan ever, but specifically Tom Van der Gucht. “I’ve spent too many years experiencing the Aussie short-form juggernaut to ever write them off and can envisage them winning this comfortably before arriving in the knockout stages with renewed vigour and confidence that builds and builds until they steamroller England in the final and carry it on to the Ashes where they win 6-0 even though there’s only five Tests (they’ll win one of the Tests in under a day, organise a second one in the remaining four days and win that too).”
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WICKET! West Indies 91-5 (Hetmyer c Wade b Hazlewood 27)
Shimron Hetmyer walks! He tried to ride a short ball from Hazlewood but could only glove it down the leg side to Matthew Wade. That’s another very good wicket for the Aussies - Hetmyer was playing nicely and made 27 from 28 balls.
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12th over: West Indies 87-4 (Hetmyer 24, Pollard 8) Oof, Zampa drops Pollard off his own bowling! Pollard drove a low full toss whence it came, and Zampa couldn’t hang on to a sharp two-handed chance above his head. He had a second go as he fell backwards but couldn’t reach the rebound with his left hand.
The next ball is a googly that almost gets through Pollard, and later in the over Hetmyer just manages to get his bat down on a quicker delivery. Classy stuff from Zampa - and then from Pollard, who ruins an otherwise superb over for Australia by squeezing the ball behind point for four.
11th over: West Indies 81-4 (Hetmyer 23, Pollard 3) Mitchell Starc is back. West Indies bat deep - Jason Holder is No9 - so Australia won’t feel comfortable just yet. Starc enquires for LBW when a slower ball hits Pollard on the pad; it pitched outside leg again. Seven from the over.
“Thanks to Brian (9th over) for that link, which actually I did not even have to click on for the images to appear in my scarred brain,” says Ian Copestake. “Does this mean YouTube is inside me?”
Stop plagiarising future episodes of Black Mirror.
10th over: West Indies 74-4 (Hetmyer 19, Pollard 1) Hetmyer survives an optimistic LBW appeal from Zampa. Pitched outside leg.
WICKET! West Indies 70-4 (Lewis c Smith b Zampa 29)
Steve Smith takes a lovely catch to get rid of the dangerous Evin Lewis! Zampa, who had been swept for four the previous ball, followed up with a slightly slower googly. Lewis sliced it high in the air, and Smith ran round from long off to take the catch two-handed as he dived forward. That was superbly done, by Smith and Zampa.
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9th over: West Indies 65-3 (Lewis 25, Hetmyer 17) Those three quick wickets have inevitably curbed West Indies’ boundary-hitting, with most of the runs coming in singles at the moment. The moment I type that, Hetmyer larrups Marsh to long-off for four. Warner ran round the boundary and got something on the ball, but it was hit with ferocious power and went straight through him.
“So Ian Copestake wants to name and shame anthem non-singers?” writes Brian Withington. “May I present Exhibit A for the prosecution of a certain Welsh Secretary. If only this was his worst offence against humanity...”
8th over: West Indies 57-3 (Lewis 23, Hetmyer 11) It’s time for Adam Zampa, who has quietly become one of the world’s best T20 bowlers. Lewis survives a run-out chance when Wade’s throw misses the stumps at the non-striker’s end; he would have been a long way short had Wade hit. Just four from the over. Australia are putting the squeeze on very effectively - in the last five overs West Indies are 22 for two.
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7th over: West Indies 53-3 (Lewis 22, Hetmyer 9) Hetmyer misses a wild mow across the line. The review aside, it was an excellent over for Australia - just three from it.
Seen better ones #T20WorldCup #AUSvWI pic.twitter.com/c0xdmoQht3
— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) November 6, 2021
Lewis is not out! It was an awful review. Lewis tried to pull a ball from the new bowler Mitch Marsh that kept low and brushed the flap of the pad. It was missing off stump by a mile.
AUSTRALIA REVIEW FOR LBW AGAINST LEWIS! I don’t think this is out, I’m not sure why I bothered with the bold type and exclamation mark.
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6th over: West Indies 50-3 (Lewis 21, Hetmyer 7) Glenn Maxwell comes into the attack. His fourth ball is too short, too straight, and Lewis slams it round the corner for four. That aside it’s an excellent over from Maxwell.
#Australia’s Powerplay Bowling at the #T20WorldCup so far:
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) November 6, 2021
vs #SAF: 29-3
vs #SL: 53-1
vs #ENG: 66-0
vs #BNG: 33-4
vs #WI: 50-3#T20WorldCup #AUSvWI
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5th over: West Indies 44-3 (Lewis 16, Hetmyer 6) After a few singles, Hetmyer waves Cummins classily through extra cover for four. Seven from the over in total. Australia will take that during a Powerplay.
4th over: West Indies 37-3 (Lewis 14, Hetmyer 1) A tremendous second over from Hazlewood: two runs, two wickets and even two dot balls.
WICKET! West Indies 35-3 (Chase b Hazlewood 0)
Roston Chase goes second ball! This was a Test-match dismissal, a gorgeous delivery that nipped off the seam and went through the gate to ping the off stump. Hazlewood’s first over went for 19; in his second he has taken two wickets in three balls without conceding a run.
Anyone? Anyone? (CB) Fry?
Two spare tickets @englandcricket v @OfficialCSA today. Free to anyone who has struggled to obtain/afford tickets to the @T20WorldCup.
— Rob Lewis (@elitebandwagon) November 6, 2021
Get in touch. RTs appreciated. #ENGvSA #T20WorldCup @Streaky94
WICKET! West Indies 35-2 (Pooran c Marsh b Hazlewood 4)
Another one! Nicholas Pooran cloths a heavy, length delivery from Hazlewood straight to Mitch Marsh in the covers. That was a pretty naive shot, especially so early in the innings.
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3rd over: West Indies 35-1 (Lewis 13, Pooran 4) The way Chris Gayle raised his bat as he left the field suggests this his last innings for the West Indies, though we will still see him in franchise cricket. It’s a cliche, I know, but he is the closest we have to a T20 version of Bradman.
The new batter, Nicholas Pooran, gets off the mark by driving his second ball through mid-on for four. That was a delightful stroke. Cummins then has an optimistic LBW appeal turned down; it pitched outside leg.
WICKET! Australia 30-1 (Gayle b Cummins 15)
Gone! Chris Gayle muscles Pat Cummins’ first ball over long on for six, but then drags the next one back onto the stumps. That’s a vital wicket for Australia: Gayle made 15 from nine balls and was looking pretty ominous.
2nd over: West Indies 24-0 (Gayle 9, Lewis 13) Josh Hazlewood’s first over has disappeared for 20! It started with Evin Lewis, who belted the first three deliveries for four: a spectacular flat pull, a drag to fine leg and a hearty thump back over the bowler’s head. Gayle joined in, of course he did, by heaving a short ball over midwicket for six.
“Please name those who did not verbally anthemise,” says Ian Copestake. “We need more shaming in the game to help rid it of non-singers.”
Gary Neville. Let’s go back in time to 1996 and cancel him via the burgeoning platforms of the information superhighway.
1st over: West Indies 4-0 (Gayle 3, Lewis 0) Starc’s first ball is an attempted yorker that Gayle inside-edges for a couple. Gayle then scrambles a quick single to mid-off; if this is his last game for the West Indies, I doubt he’ll miss running (sic) between the wickets. A leg-bye brings Gayle back on strike, and he leaves a couple of deliveries outside off stump. He has always taken a bit of time to get his eye in, even in T20. He’s not going to change now.
“Finally, recognition for Karen O’s subtle cricket agenda,” says Matt Dony. “Wasn’t Maps basically a paean to bowling straight and full, and not straying beyond leg stump? (Rob, they don’t love you like I love you!)”
And that line in Art Star – “I’ve been working on a piece that speaks of sex and desperation” – refers to her 10,000-word epic on England’s tour of New Zealand in 1983-84.
After the players take a knee, Mitchell Starc marks out his run. Chris Gayle will face the first ball.
The players line up for the anthems. Some players sing lustily, others awkwardly; some don’t sing at all. It’s time for the cricket to start.
“As an England fan anticipating another difficult Ashes winter, I find it important to enjoy little crumbs of pleasure when you find them,” says Robert Ellson. “It’s only just dawned on me that, regardless of what happens in the first match today, Australians will be cheering on England in the evening game. What a delightful thought.”
In that first sentence, the word ‘difficult’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Turns out this isn’t a meaningless game for West Indies. Their T20 ranking is such that they need to win to qualify automatically for the Super 12s at next year’s World Cup. Yes, I did just hear that on the TV, and now I’m drowning in context.
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Team news
Australia are unchanged. West Indies bring in the legspinner Hayden Walsh Jr - who had a tremendous series against Australia in July - for Ravi Rampaul.
Australia Finch (c), Warner, Marsh, Smith, Maxwell, Stoinis, Wade (wk), Cummins, Starc, Zampa, Hazlewood.
West Indies Lewis, Gayle, Pooran (wk), Chase, Hetmyer, Pollard (c), Russell, Bravo, Holder, Hosein, Walsh.
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Australia win the toss and bowl first
Aaron Finch says Australia aren’t thinking about net run-rate. “We’re here to win two points, that’s all.”
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Everything. Everyone. Everywhere. Ends.
We know that Dwayne Bravo, one of the T20 greats, will play his last game for the West Indies tonight. He might not be the only one; most people think it will be Chris Gayle’s farewell too. It’s certainly the end of an era. But my word, what joy and exhilaration they have provided over the past decade. West Indies 2012-21: remember the team.
Today, win or lose I choose to celebrate the legacy that this T20 team created. @windiescricket were kings in this format and today brings an end to that era which I played in. The dynasty is over and I thank you for all the great memories. pic.twitter.com/pA9MF6CuLr
— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) November 6, 2021
A message to champion Bravo from his captain, colleague and friend Kieron Pollard ahead of his final game for West Indies 👊 #T20WorldCup | #AUSvWIpic.twitter.com/xgaFvwm3rJ
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 6, 2021
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Preamble
Hello, good day and welcome to live coverage of Australia v West Indies in Abu Dhabi. Whatever your preferred nomenclature – Judgement Day, Super Saturday or, as it was once known, Saturday – this is a very big day (and night) for Australia. In around 10 hours’ time they will either be planning for a semi-final, probably against Pakistan in Dubai on Thursday, or arranging flight DO1 back to Australia.
You almost certainly know the state of play, but let’s have a quick recap just in case. There are two games today that will decide whether Australia reach the semi-final of the men’s T20 World Cup for the first time since 2012: this one in Abu Dhabi and then England v South Africa in Sharjah. The use of net run-rate (NRR) as a tiebreaker, and the fact the two matches are staggered, means a whole heap of uncertainty. Australia could lose and go through; they could also win and go out.
Australia’s marmalisation of Bangladesh means they are ahead of South Africa on NRR. They also have the easier fixture, at least theoretically, against a West Indies side who are out of the tournament and at the end of an era (though that may liberate them for one last orgy of sixes).
South Africa’s trump card is the schedule. For most of this tournament it’s been beneficial to bat second. Today, it’s an even bigger advantage to play second. South Africa will start their game against England knowing exactly what they need to do to qualify. (It’s possible that both Australia and South Africa could go through at England’s expense, but it’s probably a 500/1 shot.)
All Australia can do is win against West Indies – the bigger, the better, as renowned cricket tragic Karen O would say – and hope England do the necessary, whatever that may be, against South Africa. It’s going to be a long night, so you might want to source a few things before play starts: industrial-strength caffeine, valium, a calculator. And if you know how to set up a NRR spreadsheet, you’re my new best friend.
The match starts at 2pm in Abu Dhabi, 9pm AEDT, 10am GMT
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