Sports
World Cup 2022: Tournament in Qatar set to get under way
After 12 years of questions, criticisms and conjecture, the Fifa World Cup in Qatar will finally get under way on Sunday.The build-up to the first tournament to be held in a Muslim country in the Middle East has been overshadowed by a number of controversies.But Fifa has asked all 32 competing nations to “focus on the football” and hosts Qatar will kick off the tournament against Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium (16:00 GMT).
The home nations that have qualified are in the same group and in action the following day, with England up against Iran (13:00), before Wales play USA (19:00).BBC Sport looks at the list of controversies, the excitement building on the ground in Qatar, and who could win the World Cup.
Qatar 2022 will go down as one of the most talked about and controversial World Cups in history.The Gulf country defeated bids from South Korea, Japan, Australia and the United States to host the tournament, but there were allegations of widespread corruption in the process, which Qatar have always denied.
In February 2021, the Guardian said 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar since it won its World Cup bid.The number is based on figures provided by the countries’ embassies in Qatar.
However, the Qatar government said the total was misleading, because not all the deaths recorded were of people working on World Cup-related projects. The government said its accident records showed there were 37 deaths among labourers at World Cup stadium construction sites between 2014 and 2020, only three of which were “work-related”.
However, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said that was an underestimate.There have been fears over how LGBT fans can expect to be treated given the country’s strict adherence to Sharia Law, with homosexuality illegal in Qatar.Organisations engaging with Fifa over the tournament have said “progress has been slow” and “issues of concern” remain.
UK Pride organisations have called on bars and venues to not screen World Cup matches in a boycott of the tournament.Players have been urged to use their influence to speak up about the issues in the country and at a news conference in Doha on Thursday, England defender Conor Coady said “we’re not politicians”.
The Everton defender added: “We’ll never be politicians in terms of the way we look at things but, in terms of what the squad has done over the last few years and how much they’ve helped people, that comes with the territory.”
Sepp Blatter, who was the president of Fifa and the man who announced the awarding of the tournament to Qatar in 2010, said last week that decision was a “mistake”.
On the day before the tournament, Fifa president Gianni Infantino accused the West of “hypocrisy” in its reporting about Qatar’s human rights record.In an extraordinary monologue at a news conference in Doha, Infantino spoke for nearly an hour and made a passionate defence of Qatar and the tournament.
Temperatures in the summer often reach 50C here, which is why the tournament was moved for the first time to a ‘winter’ slot, though it is still a balmy 32C during the day and a pleasant 22C in the evening.It has meant European leagues have been brought to a halt mid-season, with the opening game taking place just a week after the last Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester United.
Three months out from kick-off, the Fifa council approved a request from the South American confederation Conmebol to move the start of the tournament a day earlier than planned.And just two days before the event, organisers announced fans would not be able to purchase or consume alcohol inside or within the perimeter area of any of the eight stadiums.At 29 days from start to finish (20 November to 18 December), this will be the shortest World Cup since Argentina 1978.
That means organisers have had to schedule four games most days during the group stages and there is no turnaround time between the groups and the knockout stages, with the last 16 starting the day after the group stages end.A country which has a population of less than three million, Qatar expects to see a total influx of about 1.2 million visitors from around the world over the next month.
At a briefing last month, Fifa said nearly three million tickets had been sold for the tournament, with the host nation topping the list of countries with the highest number of tickets at 37% of sales.
Travelling around the capital of Doha in the days before the opening game, the buzz is palpable with bunting with flags from each competing country lining the streets.Argentina shirts are by far the most popular choice of kit on show, mostly emblazoned with ‘Messi 10’ on the back. Lionel Messi – one of the tournament’s star attractions – plays for Qatari-owned Paris St-Germain.
The country has spent billions on upgrading its infrastructure and the roads are already busy with locals and supporters from neighbouring Saudi Arabia expected to drive across the border. Fifa shuttle buses can be seen whizzing up and down the streets.
The metro carriages had been quiet early in the week but there was real congestion on the Friday and Saturday, the weekend days in Qatar. Questions remain as to how the system will cope with the arrival of tens of thousands of fans for each of the 64 games.
“It is going to be tough,” an attendant at one of the stations told BBC Sport. “The smaller stops should be OK but it is going to be tough at the ones where stadiums are located. There are four matches a day so it will be extremely busy.”
The Fan Festival at Al Bidda Park has bright, colourful lights illuminated overhead, with music pumping out at a nearby performance stage – though this is halted for a couple of minutes when the Adhan (call to prayer) is heard from nearby mosques.
Alcohol cannot be consumed in public in the Muslim country, but this rule has been relaxed a little for the tournament as fans can purchase a beverage in restricted areas such as the fan park, though a pint will set you back £12.50.
Brazil have not won the World Cup since 2002 and are, in fact, the last non-European team to lift the trophy.Statisticians Opta have crunched the numbers and their prediction model says Tite’s men are favourites to go all the way for a record-extending sixth time.But Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina have the second-highest probability of being champions for the third time, coming into the tournament on the back of a 36-game unbeaten run.
Gareth Southgate’s England have hit a poor run of form at the wrong time, winless in their last six games as they look to take one step further from reaching the semi-finals four years ago.Wales, who are in the same group, have qualified for the tournament for the first time since 1958 and will be aiming to reach the knockout stage again. That year they progressed to the quarter-finals before narrowly being beaten by eventual winners Brazil.
(BBC)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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