Black Caps hope their luck at SCG continues
The Black Caps will be hoping for a third win in as many outings when they return to the Sydney Cricket Ground for their Twenty20 World Cup semifinal on Wednesday night.
They began their campaign with an 89-run win there two weeks ago over hosts Australia, who are now out of the running, then built on that first-up success with a 65-run win there over Sri Lanka a week later.
England joined New Zealand in advancing to the final four from group one in the Super 12 phase, but their opponents from group two were only set to be confirmed after the completion of three matches yesterday.
South Africa had loomed as the Black Caps’ most likely opponents as they walked off the field after beating Ireland by 35 runs at Adelaide Oval on Friday evening.
But group two was thrown wide open yesterday afternoon when the Netherlands beat the Proteas by 13 runs in Adelaide to knock them out of the running altogether.
The winner of the Pakistan v Bangladesh match that was next up in Adelaide was therefore likely to become the Black Caps’ opponents, unless India were upset by Zimbabwe in the final fixture of the day at the MCG.
India were definitely through to the semifinals after South Africa lost, but were still a chance to slip to second if they lost to Zimbabwe while Pakistan won.
The Black Caps will play the second-placed team from group two at the SCG on Wednesday, with England playing the firstplaced team in Adelaide on Thursday, and the final following at the MCG on Sunday.
When the Black Caps completed their final group match on Friday, they were also still able to end up in either semifinal.
But once England beat Sri Lanka on Saturday, they were able to make plans to travel back to Sydney yesterday, and they will be hoping the SCG continues to be kind to them no matter who they play there.
‘‘We’ve had two games there,’’ coach Gary Stead said on Saturday. ‘‘We obviously played well against Australia in the first game of the tournament and then I guess were in a little bit of trouble early versus Sri Lanka there, but managed to find a score that was ultimately competitive enough.
‘‘It’s been a nice ground for us to go to, but wherever you go, you just have to adapt well to the conditions and read what’s in front of you and play good cricket accordingly and I think that’s something we have done.’’
The Black Caps have made the semifinals for the third T20 World Cup in a row, but will be chasing their first title over the course of this week.
❏ Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been charged over the sexual assault of a woman after being arrested in his Sydney hotel early yesterday.
Police said detectives began an investigation on Saturday after receiving reports that a 29-year-old woman had been sexually assaulted at a Rose Bay home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs earlier in the week.
They alleged the woman met Gunathilaka, who was in Sydney for the Twenty20 World Cup, after communicating with him for several days on a dating app before the assault on Wednesday.
NSW police said the 31-year-old cricketer was charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent. He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court via video link and is expected to face court today.