🏏ICC Men's T20I WC 2022 - Super 12 - Group 1 - AUS vs NZ🏏

Welcome to ICC Men's T20I World Cup 2022

Super 12 - Group 1

Australia vs New Zealand on 22/10/2022 at 12:30 PM IST at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney

New Zealand take on Australia under La Niña's shadow

There is a 90% chance of rain in Sydney which may put a damper on the opening match of the Super 12s

The weather is so far so good. It is sunny and the temperature is 22 degrees Celsius.

Australia’s chance to be back-to-back champions

Australia have a golden opportunity to become the first back-to-back T20 world champions, enjoying the advantage of being the only winners of cricket's shortest format to have a crack at defending the title at home.

But they begin their campaign on the back of a 2-0 series loss to England this month and with Finch admitting they were "tired" after a gruelling build-up.

Despite the tough lead-in, pace spearhead Pat Cummins insisted they were better placed after defying the odds to win last year's title.

"I think in some ways we are even better prepared," he said this week. "We have played a lot more and we have drawn on the experiences from last year.

"In saying that, T20 is a very fickle format. You look around and there are probably four or five teams that realistically could win it."

New Zealand’s mixed form

Kane Williamson's New Zealand enter the competition in mixed form, having lost to South Africa and Pakistan, but recently enjoying victories against Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Fast bowler Tim Southee is under no illusions that Australia will be a tough opponent, should their game go ahead.

"You can't give them a sniff. They are a class side," he said.

Weather Forecast:

Australia begins its title defence against New Zealand in Sydney on Saturday evening and the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting an 80% chance of rain with 3 to 6mm. “Partly cloudy. Very high (90%) chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. The chance of a thunderstorm,” it states on Saturday morning.

A minimum of five overs is required to constitute a match and there are no reserve days during the group stages, but there are for the semi finals and final.

The last time the two teams met at the SCG in March 2020, the game had to be played in an empty stadium due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, but two-and-a-half years later, as another trans-Tasman rivalry beckons, the excitement and the demand for tickets indicate how much fans in Sydney missed cricket.

Pitch Report:

A good batting pitch is expected for the encounter. The average score at this venue is 162, with the average first innings score being around 165. The skipper winning the toss might look to have a bowl first and chase the total later on.

The schedule for Group 1:

22-Oct-2022 Australia vs New Zealand 12:30 PM Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney

22-Oct-2022 England vs Afghanistan 4:30 PM Perth Stadium Burswood

23-Oct-2022 SRI LANKA vs IRELAND 9:30 AM Bellerive Oval Hobart

25-Oct-2022 Australia vs SRI LANKA 4:30 PM Perth Stadium Burswood

26-Oct-2022 England vs IRELAND 9:30 AM Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne

26-Oct-2022 New Zealand vs Afghanistan 1:30 PM Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne

28-Oct-2022 Afghanistan vs IRELAND 9:30 AM Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne

28-Oct-2022 England vs Australia 1:30 PM Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne

29-Oct-2022 New Zealand vs SRI LANKA 1:30 PM Sydney Cricket ground Sydney

31-Oct-2022 Australia vs IRELAND 1:30 PM The Gabba Brisbane

1-Nov-2022 Afghanistan vs SRI LANKA 9:30 AM The Gabba Brisbane

1-Nov-2022 England vs New Zealand 1:30 PM The Gabba Brisbane

4-Nov-2022 New Zealand vs IRELAND 9:30 AM Adelaide Oval Adelaide

4-Nov-2022 Australia vs Afghanistan 1:30 PM Adelaide Oval Adelaide

5-Nov-2022 England vs SRI LANKA 1:30 PM Sydney Cricket ground Sydney

Probable Playing XIs for AUS vs NZ

Australia

David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

New Zealand

Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Adam Milne, Trent Boult

Probable Top Performers

Probable best batter: David Warner

David Warner has been in excellent touch with the bat lately. The left-handed batter can be very damaging with the bat, especially during the field restrictions. Warner will want to make a big score in the tournament opener.

Probable best bowler: Trent Boult

The experienced left-arm pacer from New Zealand, Trent Boult will look to do some early damage with the ball against Australia. Boult has been a prominent new-ball bowler and has been a match-winner for his country. He will be a bowler to watch out for in the upcoming game.

What to expect: In a strange turn of events, neither team got a look at the pitch at the SCG considering it was under covers throughout the day. So it meant they kept looking up again for some answers from the skies above. Friday (October 21) was eventually a rather fine day with very occasional showers, and also none that hung around for too long. A similar improvement in forecast today is exactly what the World Cup and the two teams need to kick us off in a great fashion.

What they said:

"I think there's a lot of different ways you can play cricket in Australia, and that's the beauty of it. You get such varied conditions from the east to the west, even north in Brisbane to the south down in Melbourne or Hobart. I think there's so many variables that come into it, that the team that wins the competition will be a really well rounded team and a team that can adapt quicker to changing conditions all the time" - Aaron Finch

Here's David Hussey's take: "It's a bit of a new-ball pitch. Batters have to be a little bit more circumspect up front and respect the new ball by playing good cricket shots, try to conserve wickets and cash in in the middle overs and towards the end of the innings. But it's always a good cricket pitch. The boundary sizes are a bit bigger than you might think. They're definitely bigger straight, and if you're going to take a risk hitting straight, you've got to really get it. Teams try and target one or two bowlers and try and get them out of the attack to force the opposition to bowl a part-timer, who they also target as well.

"Generally over extra cover or over midwicket, it is probably the shortest part of the boundaries. Depending on which pitch you're playing on, playing bang in the middle, the boundaries are quite large. People don't realise that when they're out there or watching on TV. You've just got to try and hit to your areas of strength and play a lot of good cricket shots along the ground to maximise runs that way."

History is against New Zealand. They haven't beaten Australia in Australia in any format since 2011 when Trent Boult made his international debut. Recent form isn't on their side as well. However, you can never count New Zealand out at a global tournament. Can Williamson and co. somehow find a way to end their Australia hoodoo, wonders Andrew McGlashan.

Australia have had their own issues in the build-up to the tournament, but now it's time for a star-studded side to flex it's muscle at home.