SUPER EIGHT STAGE
GROUP E
| 27 Sep, 11:00 | Pallekele | SRI LANKA 174-5 tied with NEW ZEALAND 174-7 Super Over: SRI LANKA 13-1 beat NEW ZEALAND 8-1 |
| 27 Sep, 15:00 | Pallekele | WEST INDIES 179-5 beat ENGLAND 164-4 by 15 runs |
| 29 Sep, 11:00 | Pallekele | ENGLAND 149-4 beat NEW ZEALAND 148-6 by six wickets |
| 29 Sep, 15:00 | Pallekele | SRI LANKA 130-1 beat WEST INDIES 129-5 by nine wickets |
| 1 Oct, 11:00 | Pallekele | WEST INDIES 139 tied with NEW ZEALAND 139-7 Super Over: WEST INDIES 19-0 beat NEW ZEALAND 17-0 |
| 1 Oct, 15:00 | Pallekele | SRI LANKA 169-6 beat ENGLAND 150-9 by 19 runs |
GROUP F
| 28 Sep, 11:00 | Colombo | PAKISTAN 136-8 beat SOUTH AFRICA 133-6 by two wickets |
| 28 Sep, 15:00 | Colombo | AUSTRALIA 141-1 beat INDIA 140-7 by nine wickets |
| 30 Sep, 11:00 | Colombo | AUSTRALIA 147-2 beat SOUTH AFRICA 146-5 by eight wickets |
| 30 Sep, 15:00 | Colombo | INDIA 129-2 beat PAKISTAN 128 by eight wickets |
| 2 Oct, 11:00 | Colombo | PAKISTAN 149-6 beat AUSTRALIA 117-7 by 32 runs |
| 2 Oct, 15:00 | Colombo | INDIA 152-6 beat SOUTH AFRICA 151 by one run |
SEMI FINALS
| 4 Oct, 14:30 | Colombo | SRI LANKA 139-9 beat PAKISTAN 123-7 by 16 runs |
| 5 Oct, 14:30 | Colombo | WEST INDIES 205-4 beat AUSTRALIA 131 by 74 runs |
THE FINAL
| 7 Oct, 14:30 | Colombo | WEST INDIES 137-6 beat SRI LANKA 101 by 36 runs |
ENGLAND continue their somewhat unconvincing defence of the ICC World T20 against the West Indies today as this desperate tournament finally enters its Super Eight stage.
For, to say that this fourth edition of the World T20 has yet to spring into life would be a massive understatement, and even seasoned cricket writers are finding it hard to get excited.
There have been two major problems with the organisation of the tournament. The first is its bizarre format for the opening group stages with only three teams in each group.
It meant that Zimbabwe, having lost twice in the first three days, were knocked out before five of the other teams had yet to play a match.
Surely it would have been better if there had been three groups of four with the top two qualifying for a Super Six stage.
Not only would the smaller teams had more games, and more of a chance of causing an upset but, with only six spots available for the latter stages, there would have also been competitive games between the eight stronger teams.
As it happened, all eight major Test-playing nations qualified, and the fact that seedings for the Super Eight were pre-allocated - and points were not carried over - led to needless dead rubbers in the final matches of Groups A and C.
Holders England will have been pleased that this was the case actually, as they made a complete hash of their second match, losing by the huge margin of 90 runs after being bowled out for 80.
Nevertheless, the pre-allocated draw meant that Stuart Broad's men have been pooled with two other runners-up, New Zealand and West Indies, while three group winners - Australia, India and Pakistan - have been pitted together. It has all been a bit of a mess.
The other major problem has been the scheduling of the tournament in Sri Lanka in September when the weather is not at its best.
Ireland, in particular, were undone by rain for a second World T20 in a row, as their Group B decider ended in the dreaded no result, meaning West Indies progressed on the basis of a better run rate.
In fairness, this had not been a great tournament for the Irish considering the blows they have landed at other international events - though Trent Johnston had a valid point when he suggested any plateau in Ireland's development was due to a lack of fixtures.
Their captain William Porterfield was out first ball in both his games, and the target of 130 should not have proved too much of a problem for a Windies side featuring Chris Gayle.
In surmising the Ireland-West Indies match, though, Vic Marks in the Guardian wrote: "Common-sense might demand that this game, a crucial one, should have been played earlier.
"But there are TV schedules to satisfy. More frustrating is that the fact that the International Cricket Council, like the England and Wales Cricket Board, often has a weird set of priorities.
"Taking into account the prevailing climatic conditions does not figure very high in their calculations. Hence county cricket in early April in England and major tournaments in Sri Lanka in late September.
"In cricket, TV schedulers and commercial wizards always trump meteorologists and simple cricketing folk."
Unfortunately, there is indeed a sense of foreboding that it may yet be the weather gods which decide the World T20 rather than the strength of the teams.
Another Group B match, between Australia and West Indies, was decided by the good old Duckworth-Lewis method, while the Group C dead-rubber between Sri Lanka and South Africa was also affected and reduced to seven overs.
As a whole, then, for this tournament, things really can only get better, and the crowds can only get bigger.
Of course, many Sri Lankan people are among the poorest in the world. However, cut-price tickets have been available, and it is well-known that this part of the world absolutely adores it cricket.
As such, a more likely explanation for the poor turnout is simply that these highly knowledgeable supporters are aware the tournament so far has been little more than a glorified set of warm-ups.
Pretty much everyone could have picked the eight teams which remain in the hunt, and - due to the seeding - which Super Eight group they would be contesting.
This ICC World T20 truly is in dire need of a close finish and/or an amazing comeback as well as no more rain-affected matches.
Put more bluntly, the tournament is in need of a classic or two... and fast!
PREVIOUS GROUP STAGE RESULTS
GROUP A
ENGLAND + INDIA + AFGHANISTAN
| 19 Sep, 15:00 | Colombo | INDIA 159-5 beat AFGHANISTAN 136 by 23 runs |
| 21 Sep, 15:00 | Colombo | ENGLAND 196-5 beat AFGHANISTAN 80 by 116 runs |
| 23 Sep, 15:00 | Colombo | INDIA 170-4 beat ENGLAND 80 by 90 runs |
GROUP B
AUSTRALIA + WEST INDIES + IRELAND
| 19 Sep, 11:00 | Colombo | AUSTRALIA 125-3 beat IRELAND 123-7 by seven wickets |
| 22 Sep, 15:00 | Colombo | AUSTRALIA 100-1 beat WEST INDIES 191-8 by 17 runs (D/L) |
| 24 Sep, 15:00 | Colombo | IRELAND 129-6 v WEST INDIES - No result (rain) |
GROUP C
SRI LANKA + SOUTH AFRICA + ZIMBABWE
| 18 Sep, 15:00 | Hambantota | SRI LANKA 182-4 beat ZIMBABWE 100 by 82 runs |
| 20 Sep, 11:00 | Hambantota | SOUTH AFRICA 94-0 beat ZIMBABWE 93-8 by 10 wickets |
| 22 Sep, 11:00 | Hambantota | SOUTH AFRICA 78-4 beat SRI LANKA 46-5 by 32 runs |
GROUP D
PAKISTAN + NEW ZEALAND + BANGLADESH
| 21 Sep, 11:00 | Pallekele | NEW ZEALAND 191-3 beat BANGLADESH 132-8 by 59 runs |
| 23 Sep, 11:00 | Pallekele | PAKISTAN 177-6 beat NEW ZEALAND 164-9 by 13 runs |
| 25 Sep. 15:00 | Pallekele | PAKISTAN 178-2 beat BANGLADESH 175-6 by eight wickets |
PREVIOUS GROUP STAGE TABLES
| GROUP A | W | L | NR | RR | Pts |
| (A2) INDIA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.82 | 4 |
| (A1) ENGLAND | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.65 | 2 |
| AFGHANISTAN | 0 | 2 | 0 | -3.47 | 0 |
| GROUP B | W | L | NR | RR | Pts |
| (B1) AUSTRALIA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.18 | 4 |
| (B2) WEST INDIES | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.85 | 1 |
| IRELAND | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2.09 | 1 |
| GROUP C | W | L | NR | RR | Pts |
| (C2) SOUTH AFRICA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.60 | 4 |
| (C1) SRI LANKA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.85 | 2 |
| ZIMBABWE | 0 | 2 | 0 | -3.62 | 0 |
| GROUP D | W | L | NR | RR | Pts |
| (D1) PAKISTAN | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.71 | 4 |
| (D2) NEW ZEALAND | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.15 | 2 |
| BANGLADESH | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1.87 | 0 |
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