T 20 World Cup Schedule

Group A

India - A1     
Bangladesh - A2
Ireland

Group B

Pakistan - B1
England - B2
Netherlands

Group C

Australia - C1
Sri Lanka - C2
West Indies

Group D

New Zealand - D1
South Africa - D2
Scotland

Warm Up Matches Schedule

Group Matches Schedule


Super Eight Schedule

Flintoff Out From T20 Squad Rashid In For England

All-rounder Andrew Flintoff is to miss out on the ICC World Twenty20 having failed to recover sufficiently from knee surgery and his place will be taken by leg-spinner Adil Rashid, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed.

31-year-old Flintoff flew home from the Indian Premier League (IPL) in April and underwent keyhole surgery on his right knee in a bid to get fit for the Twenty20 event and the Ashes, which begin on July 8th.

National Selector Geoff Miller explained: "We had to name Andrew in the ICC World Twenty20 15 because we hoped he would be fit but in reality the timescale was always optimistic. We have now obtained permission from ICC to name Yorkshire's Adil Rashid as a replacement. There is a lot of cricket still to play this year and it is important Andrew is fully fit for it.

"Meanwhile it is an exciting opportunity for Adil Rashid, who was in the original 30 we named in early April. He has impressed the England management after being a part of the Test tour to India and the subsequent Caribbean tour and deserves his chance."

After the International Cricket Council (ICC) Technical Committee confirmed that Rashid could replace the Lancashire's all-rounder, Flintoff has become the second player to pull out of the tournament, after Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar was replaced by Iftikhar Anjum before media reports in India, denied by the BCCI, claimed that Zaheer Khan was facing a fitness battle after injuring a shoulder in the IPL.

England are also currently missing Kevin Pietersen, who was rested from the One Day International series against the West Indies with an Achilles problem, although he is expected to be fit for the ICC World Twenty20, in which England take on Pakistan and the Netherlands in Group B.

Sthalekar Believes Australia Will Bounce Back In T20 World Cup

Lisa Sthalekar hopes that Australia can overcome its World Cup heartbreak by putting on some excellent performances at the ICC World Twenty20 2009.

Australia takes on New Zealand in a three-match T20 series, which begins in Brisbane on Monday, and she revealed the squad is excited about having an opportunity to get back playing with her national side.

“The players have all arrived in Brisbane and everybody is looking forward to playing. It is ten weeks since we last had a game and it will good to play these three games,” said Sthalekar.

“Although we are playing for a trophy, it is also a chance to fine tune our preparations, so hopefully we will hit the ground running when we arrive in England.”

The pre-event favourites for the ICC Women’s World Cup, held earlier in the year, will be looking for a better performance than at that tournament when it surprisingly finished fourth, and Sthalekar believes the ICC World Twenty20 2009 is a perfect chance to make amends.

“There is still disappointment there but it is exciting that we have a chance to change the perception of the team in such a short space of time,” she said.

Australia will play in a tough group at the ICC World Twenty20 that includes New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa and Sthalekar admits she can’t wait to bat on the Taunton wicket.

“The last time I played at Taunton it played like a road and lots of runs were scored so I am looking forward to playing there again,” she added.

Tendulkar Confident That India Can Retain WT20 Trophy

India’s most successful batsman Sachin Tendulkar feels that his team can retain the World Twenty20 trophy which it won at the inaugural edition in 2007.

The Indian team departed for England yesterday with the hope of defending the World Twenty20 trophy it won in South Africa two years ago.

All members of the current Indian squad were part of their respective franchises for the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL). Both batsmen and bowlers tasted success at the second edition of the IPL.

Except for strike bowler Zaheer Khan, the rest of the Indian unit looks fit and raring to go.

Indian veteran Sachin Tendulkar, who has excused himself from the shortest format of the game, has full confidence of his team winning the trophy for the second consecutive time when the tournament gets underway on June 6.

"I have full confidence in the team. It’s a solid team that has got explosive batsmen and some wonderful bowlers in their attack which looks fantastic," said Tendulkar.

"The team has got some world class players as well.”

Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag were at their explosive best in the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa but the flashing opening duo seemed to have lost some steam while representing their franchise, Delhi Daredevils, at the IPL.

However, Tendulkar does not see this temporary dent in form as a harbinger for the World Twenty20 2009.

The master batsman said, "Form can sometimes go down and you may not play well at times. But I believe a world class player is always a threat to the opposition and I’m really glad that we have so many world class players in the side.”

Since the advent of Twenty20 cricket, many purists have criticized this new format of the game as opposed to the longer versions – Tests and one day internationals – which are said to be the best judge of an international player.

But Tendulkar has a different viewpoint on the issue.

"I think it is good for cricket. It generates interests in areas where we don't have major tournaments. It’s fast, exciting and you know the result within three hours.”

"It’s exciting for someone who has just started watching cricket. Maybe it would help him to subsequently graduate to watching ODIs and Test matches as well. That’s why I feel it’s good for cricket.”