Melbourne: With the prediction of heavy rain on the day of the ICC T20 World Cup final between England and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Sunday, and the forecast not too good for the reserve day on Monday as well, Jos Buttler and his team are praying they are not declared joint winners in the showpiece event.
England coach Matthew Mott — formerly coach of the Australian women’s team — affirmed on the eve of the title clash that his side will do everything possible to play and not have to share the trophy.
“I suppose the advantage of having lived in Melbourne for six years, realising how often they can get it wrong with the weather forecast, it’s a pretty fickle weather system here, so hopefully they’ve got it wrong,” the Australian said on SEN’s The Run Home on Saturday.
“But in saying that, I think the way the ICC (International Cricket Council) have reacted and seeing the forecast, we’ll be able to get the 10 overs in at each team think at some stage, there will be enough of a window,” he added.
In the event of rain, the best possible scenario for both teams to get a result is to play 10 overs each side. Anything less than that and the trophy will be shared.
“We’ll do everything we can to play, I don’t think any of us would like to be joint winners. I think there’s an appetite from both teams that we’ll have to crack on at some point, but you never know, it could be complete sunshine here and we get the full game in, which would be awesome. That’s what the fans deserve as well,” added Mott.
The Melbourne meteorological bureau has predicted a 100 per cent chance of rain for Sunday with the possibility of a storm. For the reserve day, a similar grim scenario is forecast with a 95 per cent chance of five to 10 millimetres of rain, according to sen.co.au.
Mott said his side had been informed that extra time had been allocated should it be required, “with ICC officials pulling out all the stops to get the game completed”, said the report.
“Everyone wants to try and get that done on day one, so we’ll do everything humanely possible to get it done on the first day and the reserve day I believe is a little bit more flexible as well,” he said.
