Left Arm Around

Following Afghanistan’s comfortable win over Papua New Guinea and USA’s washout with Ireland, perennial overachievers New Zealand and an often unpredictable Pakistan were eliminated at the first stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

While the Kiwis faced a huge battle in a ‘group of death’ featuring joint-hosts West Indies and an ever improving Afghanistan, Pakistan faced a somewhat easier route to the ‘Super Eights’.

It must be said that arch rivals India posed an obvious genuine threat, but a team of Pakistan’s talent should never have lost to a side like the US in their first global tournament.

The home crowd and underdog tag certainly gave them a boost as they came out on top in a dramatic super over.

But in a team without proper experience on the big stage, aside from veteran Corey Anderson, the US should have been dispatched without any problems.

Babar Azam is the star of the newly appointed Gary Kirsten’s side, yet much of the criticism for their defeat came at the expense of Babar as he struggled to rotate strike in the powerplay and accelerate to full effect at the back end of the innings.

Fellow opener Mohammad Rizwan has also been criticised for this strike-rate in an age of ultra-aggressive T20 batting, despite his impressive consistency and career average in the shortest format.

Along with some sketchy middle-order batting, this is something that the Pakistan management may look to change in the future as they look ahead to other global tournaments.

That being said, all is definitely not lost.

Their bowling attack is comprised of match-winners like Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi, and but for a major collapse against India and silly errors v the US, they could be waltzing into the next round unbeaten. Full of confidence. Ready to start a title charge.

Now back to Kane Williamson’s New Zealand.

Having reached the semifinals or better of every major ICC World Cup since 2016, it’s clear to see how many people were no longer quick to underestimate the Black Caps’ credentials.

However, after a humiliating 73-run defeat to Afghanistan and agonising 13-run loss to West Indies in Guyana, Gary Stead’s future as head coach is in serious doubt.

Not only that but captain Williamson’s white-ball career could be fading, characterised by a recent IPL spent largely on the bench, meanwhile stalwarts such as Trent Boult and Tim Southee are in the latter stages of their international careers.

Simply put, this team appears to be at a crossroads.

The likes of Rachin Ravindra and Finn Allen provide great hope for the future, but it could be time for the Kiwi selectors to move forward and continue to bring new faces into the XI.

There’s no reason they can’t come back firing should a few changes be made!