MELBOURNE: A confident Sri Lanka open the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday fresh from being crowned Asian champions, but face negotiating a tricky preliminary round to join the big guns in the main draw.

They kick off the global showpiece in Geelong against a Namibian team looking to spring another surprise after making the Super 12 stage on their tournament debut last year.

Originally scheduled to take place in 2020 before being moved because of Covid, the eighth edition of the event begins with a double-header at the 36,000 capacity Kardinia Park in Geelong, west of Melbourne.

Later Sunday, the United Arab Emirates face the Netherlands, before two-time champions the West Indies, Scotland, Zimbabwe and Ireland join the fray in Hobart on Monday.

Despite 2014 champions Sri Lanka failing to automatically qualify for the Super 12, skipper Dasun Shanaka believes they can go far after beating India and Pakistan on their way to winning the Asia Cup last month.

“The momentum is there and winning the Asia Cup really helps going ahead to the World Cup,” he said. “Qualifiers will really help because we will play in the conditions before the main tournament happens, so it will be good for us.”

They must first get past an experienced Namibia led by Gerhard Erasmus, who is hoping for more big performances from talisman David Wiese and paceman Ruben Trumpelmann, both of whom played key roles last year.

The Africans also played Sri Lanka first up in 2021, crashing by seven wickets, before beating the Netherlands and Ireland to qualify from the first round.

The eight teams in the first round are chasing four places in the Super 12, which gets under way on October 22 when defending champions Australia take on beaten 2021 finalists New Zealand in Sydney.

England, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will also be waiting.

The top four progress to the semi-finals before the final at Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 13.

Like Namibia, the UAE are playing only their second T20 World Cup and come into the competition on the back of two defeats to Bangladesh. They last featured in 2014 and suffered three convincing losses.

Ryan Cook’s Netherlands, who the UAE face first, are in their fourth successive World Cup but angling for a first win in the competition since 2016.

“We will look to continue the progression that was evident through the summer into the tournament,” said Cook, whose team swept through July’s qualifying tournament to seal a World Cup spot.

The West Indies are the event’s only two-time champions, but like Sri Lanka must play the first round. They are paired with Scotland, Ireland and Zimbabwe.

Nicholas Pooran’s men, who lost twice to Australia last week, face Scotland first in Hobart on Monday with Ireland and Zimbabwe also meeting in the Tasmanian state capital.

“We are getting accustomed to the conditions, putting our ego aside and working on the team plans,” said Pooran.

It’s been 10 years since the West Indies won their first T20 championship and Pooran is determined to make it back to the playoffs after a disappointing group-stage exit last year at the tournament played in United Arab Emirates and Oman but officially hosted by India.

Johnson Charles was a young batter in that winning squad in 2012, was also involved in the 2016 title and now he’s back as a veteran.

“Ten years later it’s about trying to make it happen again for the people of the West Indies,” he said. “It feels good to be back and be part of the team as we look to make it three in 10 years. No other team has won it twice, so we have a rich legacy.”

Scotland have had limited opportunities for match time since making the Super 12s for the first time at the last tournament and will likely struggle against the more experienced teams.

Zimbabwe won five consecutive games to top the World T20 qualifying tournament on home soil and returns to the global event for the first time since 2016. First-round rivals will be wary given Zimbabwe’s history of producing upset results, including a five-wicket win over Australia at the inaugural event.

Ireland had some narrow losses to India and New Zealand in white-ball series before edging Afghanistan 3-2 in a T20 series at home in August.

Once the qualifying is completed, Aaron Finch’s Australia will look to create history as the first back-to-back world champions when they get under way against Kane Williamson’s New Zealand.

England face Afghanistan in Perth on the same day.

A blockbuster clash follows 24 hours later in Melbourne when India, missing injured pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, meet arch-rivals and 2009 champions Pakistan, with more than 90,000 fans expected.

With 14 of the 15 members of Australia’s triumphant 2021 squad returning, they will be hard to beat in their own backyard.

Yet the unpredictability of T20 cricket means most of the 16 nations will fancy their chances of reaching the semi-finals.

India, the world’s top-ranked T20 side, should be among them, despite the hammer blow of losing Bumrah to injury. Their sold-out clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Pakistan, semi-finalists last year, could prove pivotal for both teams.

A new-look England, captained by Jos Buttler, will seek to maintain the standards set under former skipper Eoin Morgan, who turned the nation into a white-ball force and led them to the knockout rounds in 2021.

South Africa missed out on last year’s semi-finals after being pipped by Australia on run rate and have a history of falling short at global tournaments. However, they have fast bowlers who will relish Australia’s bouncy wickets and too much talent in the squad not to challenge for the last four again.

New Zealand will aim to end their run of global near-misses having also fallen in the finals of the 50-over World Cups in 2015 and 2019.

But to do that they may need to banish their demons against the hosts, who they have not beaten in Australia in any format for over a decade.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2022