The United States cricket team has made history by qualifying for the second round in its Twenty20 World Cup debut after its last group game against Ireland was washed out in Florida.
In Short:
- US advances to the Super Eight stage in Twenty20 World Cup debut.
- Last group game against Ireland was washed out due to rain.
- The US automatically qualifies for the 2026 Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
- The US beat Canada and stunned Pakistan in the group stage.
- US joins West Indies, India, Australia, South Africa, and Afghanistan in the Super Eight.
The United States cricket team has made history by reaching the second round in its Twenty20 World Cup debut after its last group game against Ireland was washed out on Friday.
Rain led to the abandonment of the match at Broward County Stadium without a ball being bowled, allowing the Americans to advance to the Super Eight stage and automatically qualify for the 2026 Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
The U.S. qualified for this T20 World Cup only as a co-host with the West Indies, but has utilized home advantage to make a stunning first impression in its first major cricket tournament.
While the Americans progressed alongside unbeaten India from Group A, former champion Pakistan and winless Ireland were eliminated from Super Eight contention.
Pakistan, which won the title in 2009 and reached two more finals, including the last T20 World Cup in 2022, failed to get out of the group stage for the first time. Ireland was expected to be a threat too, having reached the second round on debut in 2009 and repeating the feat in 2022.
The competition point from the washout was enough for the U.S. to advance, following victories over Canada and a shocking win against Pakistan in Texas during the first week.
Tying with Pakistan in regular overs and then beating them in a super over was one of the greatest upsets in the tournament's history.
Despite being soundly defeated by India, one of the title favorites, on Wednesday, the Americans' progression was still well deserved.
The umpires made four inspections of the wet outfield before heavy rain arrived around 1:30 p.m. local time, leading to the match being called off three hours after its scheduled start.
The 17th-ranked U.S. joins the West Indies, India, Australia, South Africa, and Afghanistan in the Super Eight, with two more teams yet to qualify. The Super Eight, starting on Wednesday, splits into two groups, with each team guaranteed three games to try and reach the semifinals.
In Kingstown, St Vincent, Nepal won the toss and chose to bowl in its match against Group D leaders South Africa, marking the first international match between the teams.
South Africa has already qualified for the Super Eight stage after winning its first three matches against the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. South Africa's first match in the Super Eight playoffs is next Wednesday against the U.S. in Antigua.
Nepal, having lost to the Netherlands in its opening match and seen its second match against Sri Lanka rained out, played its first game in 10 days. This was also the first match at the tournament to be played in St. Vincent.
Nepal's captain Rauhit Praudel chose to bowl first to take advantage of easier batting conditions in the second innings. Proteas captain Aiden Markram said he would have chosen to bat first.
For the first time at the tournament, Nepal has been able to select its leading player Sandeep Lamichhane, whose rape conviction in January was overturned in May by the Nepal High Court. While his application for a U.S. visa was rejected, he joined the team in St. Vincent, bringing the Nepal squad to its full complement of 15 players.
In Tarouba, Trinidad, New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl in a Group C match against Uganda. The West Indies and Bangladesh have already secured the two Super Eight qualifying spots from the group.
New Zealand, having lost its first two matches to Bangladesh and the West Indies, can no longer qualify, sitting at the bottom of the group behind Uganda, which has two points from a win over Papua New Guinea.
New Zealand’s failure at this tournament ends a run of success at white ball World Cups, having reached at least the semifinals of the last six white-ball world tournaments over the last decade.