Persistent drizzle in Pallekele has eliminated Australia from the men’s T20 World Cup and confirmed Zimbabwe as Group B’s second Super Eight side alongside Sri Lanka.
No play was possible on Tuesday as Ireland and Zimbabwe shared the points. That single point moves Zimbabwe to five – enough to pull beyond Australia’s reach after the latter’s earlier defeats to Sri Lanka and Ireland.
“It’s never the way you want to qualify, but we’ll take it,” Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton told local radio, acknowledging the anticlimactic finish. “The lads still earned those earlier points.”
Tournament maths is now straightforward. Zimbabwe, inheriting Australia’s seeded slot (X2), will meet West Indies in Mumbai on 23 February, India in Chennai on 26 February and South Africa in Delhi on 1 March. Sri Lanka remain in Colombo, booked to face England and New Zealand; their third opponent is still to be settled.
Australia do have one fixture left – a nominal dead rubber against Oman in Pallekele on Friday – but captain Mitchell Marsh conceded the main objective has gone. “We’ve only ourselves to blame. Two losses put us behind the eight-ball and the weather’s finished the job.”
Ground staff now eye the forecast with some trepidation. Meteorologists predict further rain over the next ten days, and Pallekele is due to host four more matches. “We can mop up quickly, but if it’s constant there’s not much we can do,” head curator Ranil Abeysekera admitted.
Tournament regulations award two points for a win and one each for a no-result, a system ICC match referee David Boon described as “the fairest option in a packed schedule”.
Fixtures still to come
• Thursday: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, Colombo
• Friday: Australia v Oman, Pallekele
Group B (after 3 matches each)
Sri Lanka 6 pts, Zimbabwe 5, Ireland 3, Australia 2, Oman 0.
Australia’s early exit will sting, yet the competition rolls on. As Marsh put it, “We’ve got one game left – we’ll play it properly and then take the lessons home.”
