ICC T20 World Cup 2016 Schedule, Time Table, Fixtures, Teams, ICC T20 WC Live Streaming Score

Australia's otherwise burgeoning cricketing trophy cupboard has one trophy that's missing and they will hope they can finally notch up their maiden World T20 victory in 2016.

For a team which has won five World Cup titles and has often been ranked the number one Test team in the world, Australia have gotten to just one final in World T20 cricket and lost that to traditional rivals England.

Other than that there have been a couple of semi-finals appearances but the side has rarely looked the world champions in T20 cricket like they have in ODI and Test cricket. And they would want to change that when they take that flight to India for the World T20 from March 2016.

Australia will encounter different conditions in India. There won't be their traditional pace and bounce on the surfaces, although the pitches will be made by independent ICC curators and won't see the same amount of turn that surfaces in India usually do. Still, they will need to ensure they prepare themselves for the slower wickets and those which assist batsmen more than bowlers.

In order to be able to do that, Cricket Australia have roped in S Sriram and Michael Hussey for their T20 side. Sriram, who has played in a few ODIs for India, was a left-arm spinner and scored truckload of runs at domestic cricket level. More vitally, he has worked with the Australia A team as well.

Hussey is an Aussie legend in his own right and one of the chief reasons why he went on to score so many runs after he turned 30 was his ability to play spin. He had a good record against spinners and has even taken to coaching, having worked with the South African side during the World Cup and on their tour of India.

Whether this will help Australia, one doesn't know, but it should give them some more confidence going into the World T20 next year where the side is 11/2 to clinch the title. They are also 15/8 to win their group and make the semi-finals.

Tournament starts on March 8.

In 2016, the T20 World Cup game will change. But, will the winner change? The answer is going to be a tough one. This year, the mighty Australian once again proved to the world that they were legends for a reason. With the 50 over World Cup in their kitty, the Australians will go all guns blazing to secure their first ever T20 World Cup, in India in 2016.

With heavy competition from other teams and traditionally batsmen friendly pitches, it is extremely important that Australia gets the combination right. Here is the predicted XI that Australia might field in a bid to reverse their T20 fortunes.

As the uncertainty looms over the much-anticipated bilateral series between India and Pakistan, the two subcontinent sides have been confirmed to renew their rivalry when they will take on each other in the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup on March 19 in Dharamshala. According to the schedule announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday, the World Cup Twenty20 matches will be staged across eight venues in India, starting from March 8 to April 3.

According to the men’s event format, eight sides in two groups of four, will feature in the first round matches with the group winners joining eight sides in the Super 10 stage (two groups of five teams). The top two sides from both the Super 10 Groups will then qualify for the semi-finals. In the women’s event, the 10 sides will be divided into two groups and the top two sides from each group will progress to the semi-finals.

The first round matches in the men’s event will take place in Dharamsala and Nagpur from 8-13 March and will feature Bangladesh, Netherlands, Ireland, debutant Oman (all in Group A), Zimbabwe, Scotland, Hong Kong and Afghanistan (all in Group B). In a double-header on the opening day on 8 March, Zimbabwe will face Hong Kong in the afternoon match, to be followed by the evening match between Scotland and Afghanistan. Both the matches will be played in Nagpur.

The group winners will join Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and host India in the Super 10 stage, which will be played alongside the women’s event from 15-28 March.Host India , who will launch its campaign in Nagpur against New Zealand on March 15, is in Super 10 Group 2 along with 2009 winner Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and the Group A winner.

Pakistan will first play against the Group A winner in Kolkata on March 16, before locking horns with traditional rival India.India’s other matches will be against the Group A winner in Bengaluru on 23 March and Australia in Mohali on 27 March while Pakistan will play their remaining two matches in Mohali against New Zealand and Australia on 22 and 25 March, respectively.

Speaking on the announcement, ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar, said: “India is a country where cricket is a religion and not many places can match the passion for the game like India. I am fully confident that the Board of Control for Cricket in India will deliver an outstanding world cricket event, just like the ICC Cricket World Cups in 1987, 1996 and 2011.Meanwhile, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson also expressed his views and said: “The ICC World Twenty20 is an event which puts the world’s best cricketers in the shortest format of the game against each other in a nation versus nation contest.

“The Twenty20 format provides the perfect vehicle by which the ICC can further globalise the game, providing international exposure and opportunity to our top Associate and Affiliate members. The ICC World Twenty20 event structure is designed to provide highly competitive matches throughout, with eight evenly-matched sides fighting it out in the first round and the best two then getting in the mix with the top eight ranked teams in the Super 10 stage where the intensity and competition will be of the very highest level,”he added.

England, which won the 2010 tournament in the West Indies, takes on 2012 winner the West Indies in Mumbai on 16 March, followed by matches against South Africa (18 March in Mumbai), the Group B winner (23 March in New Delhi) and Sri Lanka (26 March in New Delhi).After taking on England in its tournament opener, the West Indies will square off against Sri Lanka (20 March in Bengaluru), South Africa (25 March in Nagpur) and the Group B winner (27 March in Nagpur).

Men’s defending champion Sri Lanka has been placed in Super 10 Group 1 along with South Africa, West Indies, England and the Group B winner. It will open its title defence against the Group B winner in Kolkata on 17 March, and play West Indies in Bengaluru on 20 March, England in New Delhi on 26 March and South Africa in New Delhi on 28 March.

India will begin their T20 campaign against New Zealand on March 15 and will face their arch-rivals Pakistan on March 19.

Following is the complete schedule of the ICC World Twenty20 to be held in India next year.

According to ESPNCricinfo, Dharamsala will host the World Twenty20 2016 match between India and Pakistan on March 19 while the tournament semi-finals will be played in Delhi and Mumbai, according to the fixtures released by the ICC on Friday.

India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia are placed in the same group in the Super 10s stage while South Africa, England, West Indies and Sri Lanka are in the second group.

Two qualifying teams will join the Super 10s after the first stage of the tournament, to be held in Dharamsala and Nagpur.

Mitchell Starc is in doubt for Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign with the fast bowler to undergo ankle surgery. Cricket Australia on Thursday confirmed the left-armer, whose injury has ruled him out from the current Test series against the West Indies, has met with specialists and will go under the knife.

“We believe the best course of action would be for Mitchell to have the surgery for his ankle impingement now while he is currently laid off with the stress fracture in his foot,” team physiotherapist David Beakley said. 

His return-to-play timeframes will be clearer once the surgery is completed but it is unlikely he’ll be available for the ICC World T20.

The tournament starts in India on 11 March and if Starc is not fit in time, his likely return to international cricket will be Australia’s tour of the West Indies in June.

Bone spurs in Starc’s right ankle have been managed throughout the year but caused the 25-year-old obvious discomfort in the closing days of Australia’s November three-Test series against New Zealand.

Head selector Rod Marsh has already ruled out Starc for Australia’s February two-Test tour of New Zealand. “In an ideal world we’d like to have him playing in the T20 World Cup. It may happen,” Marsh said at the start of December.

The fast bowler Starc is in doubt for the event after surgery confirmed.

 

Mitchell Starc is in doubt for Australia’s World Twenty20 campaign with the fast bowler to undergo ankle surgery. Cricket Australia on Thursday confirmed the left-armer, whose foot injury has ruled him out from the current Test series against the West Indies, has met with specialists and will go under the knife for the separate problem.

“We believe the best course of action would be for Mitchell to have the surgery for his ankle impingement now while he is currently laid off with the stress fracture in his foot,” team physiotherapist David Beakley said.

His return-to-play timeframes will be clearer once the surgery is completed but it is unlikely he will be available for the ICC World T20.

That tournament starts in India on March 11 and if Starc is not fit in time, his likely return to international cricket will be Australia’s tour of the West Indies in June.

Bone spurs in Starc’s right ankle have been managed throughout the year but caused the 25-year-old obvious discomfort in the closing days of Australia’s November three-Test series against New Zealand.

Head selector Rod Marsh has already ruled out Starc for Australia’s February two-Test tour of NZ.

“In an ideal world we’d like to have him playing in the (T20) World Cup. It may happen,” Marsh said at the start of December.

A date for Starc’s surgery will be confirmed in coming days.

The ICC World Twenty20 is all set to be held in India in 2016. With all the teams giving it their best shot at the coveted trophy, the sub-continental teams will be trying to work familiar conditions to their advantage.

The Sri Lankan team is no different and they will be raring to go and show everybody what their strength is. Despite the departure of several key, experienced players, the subcontinental heavy-weights are still the reigning champions and with one of the best T20 bowlers in the world, they will be looking to retain their title.