ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Road to semis becomes tougher after rain washes out Australia vs England at MCG

Due to persistent rain, the vital ICC T20 World Cup 2022 match between Australia and England was called off on Friday without a ball being played, making the two top teams' path to the semifinals more difficult.

After the Afghanistan-Ireland game in the afternoon was washed out at the MCG, it was a double whammy for the crowd as the weather played spoilsport again. From the two groups, only two teams advance to the semifinals.

Also read: ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Afghanistan, Ireland settle for one point each after rain spoils play at MCG again

After two games on Friday were postponed due to inclement weather, England moved to second place after tying with Australia on points. 

Title favourites England had suffered a shock loss to Ireland in Super 12s. 

Australia, too, has three points from as many games after losing their tournament opener to New Zealand. They are fourth in the group with the worst run rate among four teams locked on three points. 

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Ireland comes in second place behind New Zealand in the group. Except for the Indo-Pak blockbuster played on Sunday, most of the games at the MCG have been impacted by rain.

"That's the wettest I've ever seen in this stadium. The run-ups were a real issue, and around the inner circle, it was very wet. It's more about players' safety," said Australia skipper Aaron Finch. 

"We saw one of the Zimbabweans go down the other day. If you are trying to run there, it's going to be a real issue. Everyone was ready to play, and there was a great turnout; disappointing not to get on. The amount of rain that Melbourne has had has been amazing," he added.

Also read: ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Ex-Pak cricketers 'embarrassed' after Zimbabwe cause upset; Indians have last laugh

When asked about Matthew Wade, who was down with COVID-19, he added: "He was going to play tonight. He had few symptoms yesterday but he was good to go." 

England skipper Jos Buttler too expressed disappointment after the second no-show of the day. 

"It was supposed to be a massive occasion, full house here against Australia, the biggest game of your career; very disappointed not to be able to play tonight. But full focus on our next match and keeping our tournament alive," he said.

"We've been playing some good cricket leading into the tournament. Really disappointing the other night, especially when we had the majority of things in our favour. We don't become a bad team overnight. We are full of match-winners. Looking forward to the rest of the tournament," added Buttler referring to the loss to Ireland.

Image Credit: Getty Images

(With inputs from PTI)