USA at the centre of world cricket

A record 20 teams have converged upon the United States and West Indies ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup, offering plenty of chances for cricket's lesser lights to shine in the month-long spectacle which begins this weekend.

Split across four groups, the sport's usual trophy contenders are joined by a dozen more hopefuls eager to make their presence felt, starting with Canada and co-hosts United States who both make their tournament debut in the opening match in Dallas.

New Zealand's first game is against Afghanistan on 8 June.

Uganda will also feature for the first time and for veteran spinner Frank Nsubuga, 43, it marks the apex of a personal journey which began in 1997, a year before his country was granted membership to the International Cricket Council.

"I've been playing for 27 years for the national team, to see this dream is making me so, so happy," he told Reuters.

"We want to leave a legacy... we want to leave something the world can see."

The T20 showpiece had previously grown from 12 to 16 teams since its 2007 inception and the format's unpredictable nature has seen many strong outfits humbled.

In the 2022 edition, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies fell to Netherlands, Namibia and Scotland respectively, three blossoming sides capable of ruffling more feathers this time around despite operating with a fraction of the budget distributed by the ICC to test-playing nations.

Despite beating eventual champions England during the group stage of the last World Cup, Ireland face an uphill Group A battle placed alongside India and Pakistan.

Afghanistan, whose talismanic captain Rashid Khan and predecessor Mohammad Nabi return from Indian Premier League duty, pose a constant white-ball threat and will fancy their chances of a top-two finish in Group C ahead of two-time victors West Indies.

Bangladesh are no longer pushovers but the T20 World Cup has not been a happy hunting ground and a 24 percent winning record suggests it will be difficult to advance past South Africa and Sri Lanka in Group D.

To have any hope of reaching the 'Super 8s', Oman would need to stun Australia or England in Group B.

Nepal, travelling without spinner Sandeep Lamichhane who was recently cleared of rape on appeal but has been unable to secure a visa to enter the US, and Papua New Guinea enter their second showing with minimal expectations but nothing to lose.

"You never know what's going to come out of a T20 because it changes almost every ball," said Uganda's Nsubuga.

Dates

• The ninth edition of the 20-overs showpiece event will run from June 1-29.
• It begins with hosts United States taking on Canada

Teams

• The tournament will feature 20 teams, divided into four groups.
• Group A - India, Pakistan, Canada, Ireland, United States (hosts)
• Group B - England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman.
• Group C - New Zealand, West Indies (hosts), Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Uganda
• Group D - South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal.
• Teams in each group will face each other once in a round robin format. A win is worth two points and a tie or no result is worth one point each.
• The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super 8s, where they will be divided into two groups of four each, and play each other in a round robin format.
• The top two teams from each Super 8s group will progress to the semi-finals.

Venues

• Games are being staged at nine stadiums, six in West Indies and three in the United States.
• Stadiums in West Indies: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (Antigua & Barbuda), Kensington Oval (Barbados), Providence Stadium (Guyana), Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (St Lucia), Arnos Vale Stadium (St. Vincent & the Grenadines) and Brian Lara Cricket Academy (Trinidad & Tobago).
• Stadiums in the United States: Central Broward Park (Florida), Nassau County International Cricket Stadium (New York), Grand Prairie Stadium (Texas).
• The Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, which has a capacity of 28,000, will host the final.

Past winners

• 2007 India beat Pakistan by five runs
• 2009 Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets
• 2010 England beat Australia by seven wickets
• 2012 West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 36 runs
• 2014 Sri Lanka beat India by six wickets
• 2016 West Indies beat England by four wickets
• 2021 Australia beat New Zealand by eight wickets
• 2022 England beat Pakistan by five wickets

-Reuters