Weather and poor pitches have been a blight on the T20 World Cup so far but there is still time for the tournament to pull up. James Richardson previews matches 11-17.
Nassau County International Cricket Stadium’s drop-in pitches are yet to produce a first innings score of more than 100.
Several low-scoring matches will likely drag the average for this tournament way down, and questions will be asked about what kind of advert this is for the game.
Thursday 16 June
USA 6/1 | Tie 25/1 | Pakistan 1/9 (17:30)
The USA got their campaign off to a winning start when they swept aside Canada in Dallas.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have been made to wait for their first outing as the last side in their group to get going.
Aaron Jones made a brilliant start with the bat for the United States but questions will be asked about his ability to do the same against the Pakistan attack.
Shaheen Afridi will be one who should be raring to get his T20 World Cup underway as a player who lives for the big moments.
Verdict: Pakistan highest opening partnership 5/10
No value on Pakistan to win so we’ll go with the the Asians to grab the higher opening-wicket partnership at 5/10.
Namibia 21/20 | Tie 25/1 | Scotland 82/100 (21:00)
Namibia have a chance to put more points on the board that could leave the top sides sweating when they face Scotland.
Scotland might feel that they were done an injustice by a washout against England but most pundits would say that they lucked out in getting a point from a match they were expected to lose.
Namibia can move three points clear at the top of Group B if they win this match and are in good shape to do so after coming through a tense super-over win the first time out.
Left-arm quick Ruben Trumpelmann could be one of the bowlers to watch in this tournament after a great start for Namibia.
Verdict: Namibia 21/20
I’m leaning toward Namibia here. They’ll be full of confidence and could spring a bit of a surprise against the Scots.
Friday 7 June
Canada 3/1 | Tie 25/1 | Ireland 26/100 (16:30)
Canada and Ireland have started the tournament with losses but this second encounter gives them a shot at redemption.
This match is one Ireland must win to retain any hope of progressing to the Super Eights phase ahead of either India or Pakistan.
Canada will be scrambling to get whatever they can out of this event which makes them dangerous to face.
Ireland’s batters didn’t fire the first time up and they face another go on the much-maligned Nassau County International Cricket Stadium pitch.
Verdict: Ireland 26/100
Ireland should win this… but I really like the Paul Stirling to over 0.5 sixes at 8/10.
Saturday 8 June
New Zealand 47/100 | Tie 25/1 | Afghanistan 7/4 (01:30)
New Zealand have been handed a tough opening assignment as they take on Afghanistan at a venue known to be quite spin-friendly.
What’s more, Afghanistan has already had a runout at the ground and won that outing comfortably as well.
Afghanistan saw Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran did the damage for their side against Uganda and they will be dangermen against New Zealand.
It could be the tournament for left-arm quicks with Fazalhaq Farooqi of Afghanistan having taking the first five-wicket haul at this World Cup.
Verdict: Afghanistan 7/4
Afghanistan to cause a bit of a stir in Group C with a narrow win over the Black Caps.
Sri Lanka 52/100 | Tie 25/1 | Bangladesh 31/20 (02:30)
Sri Lanka need to bounce back from their opening loss amid their complaints over logistical challenges also shared by Ireland and South Africa.
Sri Lanka are not happy with their preparation time ahead of their second match of the tournament against Bangladesh.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have a fierce rivalry and this will be a no-quarter-given type of match as well.
Bangladesh have enjoyed a smoother travel schedule which leaves them well-placed to put Sri Lanka under all sorts of pressure after just two matches.
Verdict: Bangladesh 31/20
There’s big value on Bangladesh to grab the win here against a Sri Lankan outfit who suffered a heavy defeat in their opener.
Netherlands 7/1 | Tie 25/1 | South Africa 1/11 (16:30)
South Africa will not have forgotten their exit from the T20 World Cup at the hands of the Netherlands just two years ago and will be wary of an opponent with a history of upstaging them.
Netherlands cricket has many strong links with South Africa and they would like nothing more than to put another stripe on the Proteas in this competition.
The Dutch were cool, calm and collected in a tricky chase against Nepal and will want to take that approach forward against South Africa.
South Africa need to aim to overwhelm their opponents with their batting and bowling firepower as a close game will only play into the Netherlands’ hands.
Verdict: South Africa 1/11
Not much value on South Africa here. Look to other markets opening up closer to the match or get in on the In-Play stuff.
Australia 72/100 | Tie 25/1 | England 23/20 (19:30)
In the biggest match of the tournament so far, Australia vs England headlines the Saturday programme.
These sides have met in Barbados before, with that clash coming in the 2010 T20 World Cup with England coming out on top.
England got out onto the park in their opener but the match was a washout which leaves them chasing the game in this group and they need a good result against Australia.
Australia have several in-form performers but lacks for cricket together which could be a problem against a team like England
Verdict: England 72/100
Australia weren’t entirely convincing against minnows Oman. Back England to grab the win here.
