Last year, Australia won the delayed 2020 T20 World Cup when they defeated rivals New Zealand in the final and this year, they will defend that title as hosts of the rearranged tournament.
Originally, the Australians were set to host the 2020 tournament, with India hosting in 2022, but due to the pandemic, Australia switched to host the 2022 event, with India stepping in to host it in 2021.
However, the pandemic in India at the time meant that the tournament had to be switched to Oman and the United Arab Emirates instead.
Bet365 Sport is already offering betting on which of the 16 teams that have qualified for the tournament will go on to win it, and it is a tricky tournament to predict as since it was first contested in 2007, mostly as a biennial event, only one team has won the trophy twice.
BONUS CODE: BET247
Get up to €100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365
Bet365 Review
With Cricket looking to establish itself a new market with the likes of The Hundred now being played in the UK, plus the popularity of these shorter games increasing around the globe, The T20 World Cup is one of the most exciting tournaments for fans to watch and it has proven to be one of the most open in cricket over the years.
So let’s begin our preview of the tournament which starts later this year (October) in Australia, with a quick recap of how T20 Cricket works and a look at the past history of this event.
How Does T20 Cricket Work?
T20 is a shortened game of cricket which sees two teams of 11 players competing against each other to score the most runs in a single innings, played over a 20 over period (120 balls in total).
In T20, the number of wickets that fall for a team does not matter if they can score more runs than their opponents and nor does the bowling team have to dismiss the entire opposition team with a lower total than their team, for the win.
Given the short period to score runs, T20 cricket is the most spectacular version of the game, with batsmen coming in and required to score runs quickly, which makes for many more boundaries and runs made in an innings than other forms of the game.
Games can take just two and a half hours to complete on average, and it is not unusual to see two or even three games played on the same day, at the same venue.
Additions such as the teams wearing their national colours for uniform, music being played when boundaries are scored, or when wickets are taken and the fact that teams sit close to the action, all makes the game the most exciting form of cricket.
Since 2007, it’s popularity has grown markedly to the point where now almost all test series feature T20 games as part of the tour and all test teams have their own domestic T20 competition too.
T20 has also proven popular in emerging cricketing nations, so much so that the next World Cup, scheduled to take place in 2024, will feature 20 international teams, up from the 16 competing in this year’s World Cup Finals.
T20 World Cup Finals – A History
The very first T20 World Cup Finals took place in 2007 and was held every two years for most of the intervening period. After this year’s tournament in Australia, it will once again be played every two years, with the next event scheduled for 2024 in the West Indies and United States.
Let’s now take a look at the history of the T20 World Cup tournaments together with the teams that won it.
T20 World Cup Final Results
- 2007 – in South Africa – India beat Pakistan by 5 Runs
- 2009 – in England – Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets
- 2010 – in West Indies – England beat Australia by 7 wickets
- 2012 – in Sri Lanka – West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 36 runs
- 2014 – in Bangladesh – Sri Lanka beat India by 6 wickets
- 2016 – in India – West Indies beat England by 4 wickets
- 2021 – in UAE/Oman – Australia beat New Zealand by 8 wickets
The West Indies are the only team to have won the trophy more than once, doing so twice in 2012 and 2016, beating Sri Lanka and then England to secure the title.
From 2022, the tournament will once again be a biennial tournament and is scheduled to take place in the following venues for the next few years:
- 2024 – in West Indies and the United States
- 2026 – in India and Sri Lanka
- 2028 – in Australia and New Zealand
- 2030 – in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales
Additionally, from the 2024 tournament, the number of teams competing will increase from 16 to 20. Originally 12 teams competed in the T20 World Cup Finals, but this was extended to 16 in the 2014 tournament.
The T20 World Cup 2022 – Tournament Preview
16 teams will compete across 45 matches in the 2022 World Cup in Australia, a total of 14 of the 16 teams to compete in the event have already earned their place in the tournament.
- Hosts – Australia
- ICC T20 Mens World Cup Top 11 Teams – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, Namibia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies
- Global Qualifier A Qualifiers (2) – Ireland, United Arab Emirates (Philippines, Oman, Nepal, Germany, Canada and Bahrain were eliminated)
- Global Qualifier B Qualifiers (2)– To Be Decided in Zimbabwe from 11th to 17th July.
The teams competing in the Global Qualifier B tournament are as follows: Hong Kong, Jersey, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Uganda, United States, Zimbabwe.
T20 World Cup 2022 Tournament Venues
A total of seven venues will host the matches at the tournament, which takes place from 16th October to the 13th November 2022.
- Adelaide – Adelaide Oval – 55,317
- Brisbane – The Gabba – 42,000
- Geelong – Kardinia Park – 26,000
- Hobart – Bellerive Oval – 20,000
- Perth – Perth Stadium – 61,266
- Melbourne – Melbourne Cricket Ground – 100,024
- Sydney – Sydney Cricket Ground – 48,601
How Is The Tournament Organised?
The tournament is split into three different stages.
- The First Round
The First Round features the teams ranked 9th to 12th from the last ICC Mens T20 World Cup in 2021, plus the 4 teams that qualify from the Global Qualifiers.
These teams have been drawn into two groups of four, Groups A and B as follows:
- Group A – Namibia, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Global B Qualifier Runner Up
- Group B – Ireland, Scotland, West Indies, Global B Qualifier Winner
Teams in each group play each other once between the 16th and 21st October, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the second stage of the tournament called the Super 12.
- Super 12
The Super 12 comprises of two groups, Group 1 and Group 2, which each have six teams in. Four teams from the top eight ranked teams from the last ICC T20 World Cup Finals, plus a winner and runner up from the First Round stage of this tournament.
The group draws have already been made and are as follows:
- Group 1 – Afghanistan, Australia, England, New Zealand, Group A Winner, Group B Runner Up
- Group 2 – Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Group B Winner, Group A Runner Up
As in the Opening Stage, teams in each group play each other once in the Super 12 stage and the top two teams in each group then qualify for the third and final stage of the tournament, the knockout phase.
- Knockout Phase – Semi Finals & Final
The winner of Group 1 faces the runner up of Group 2 and the winner of Group 2 faces the runner up of Group 1 in the semi-finals of the tournament, with these games taking place on the 9th and 10th November in Sydney and Adelaide.
The two winners of the semifinals then meet on the 13th November in Melbourne to decide who is the ICC T20 World Cup Winners for 2022.
Current Betting To Win The Tournament With Bet365 Sport
Bet365 will have a wide range of bets available for the games in the tournament later in the year when it takes place, but for now you can bet on which team will win the tournament.
Currently, the odds with bet365 are as follows:
- India – 3/1
- Australia – 10/3
- England – 7/2
- New Zealand – 13/2
- Pakistan – 7/1
- South Africa – 10/1
- West Indies – 12/1
- Sri Lanka – 25/1
- Afghanistan, Bangladesh – 33/1
- 300/1 bar.
Personally speaking, I think Australia are the team to back. They won this tournament last year and their team has not changed much since and they have the huge advantage of being on home soil, which makes them a very difficult prospect to beat and they won’t be lacking any motivation in the group stage as they face their biggest rivals England and New Zealand at that stage.
It should be a cracking tournament and we do advise you to check back nearer the time for any additional betting markets, changes in odds or similar ahead of the tournament starting in October.
