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October

Preliminary Group Stage

Sunday 17th - Oman vs Papua New Guinea; Al Amerat, Oman (Oman win by 10 wickets)
Sunday 17th - Bangladesh vs Scotland; Al Amerat, Oman (Scotland win by 6 runs)
Monday 18th - Ireland vs Netherlands; Abu Dhabi, UAE (Ireland win by 7 wickets)
Monday 18th - Sri Lanka vs Namibia; Abu Dhabi, UAE (Sri Lanka win by 7 wickets)
Tuesday 19th - Scotland vs Papua New Guinea; Al Amerat, Oman (Scotland win by 17 runs)
Tuesday 19th - Bangladesh vs Oman; Al Amerat, Oman (Bangladesh win by 26 runs)
Wednesday 20th - Netherlands vs Namibia; Abu Dhabi, UAE (Namibia win by 6 wickets)
Wednesday 20th - Sri Lanka vs Ireland; Abu Dhabi, UAE (Sri Lanka win by 70 runs)
Thursday 21st - Bangladesh vs Papua New Guinea; Al Amerat, Oman (Bangladesh win by 84 runs)
Thursday 21st - Oman vs Scotland; Al Amerat, Oman (Scotland win by 8 wickets)
Friday 22nd - Namibia vs Ireland; Sharjah, UAE (Namibia win by 8 wickets)
Friday 22nd - Sri Lanka vs Netherlands; Sharjah, UAE (Sri Lanka win by 8 wickets)

Group Stage

Saturday 23rd - Australia vs South Africa, Abu Dhabi (Australia win by 5 wickets)
Saturday 23rd - England vs West Indies, Dubai (England win by 6 wickets)
Sunday 24th - Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh, Sharjah (Sri Lanka win by 5 wickets)
Sunday 24th - India vs Pakistan, Dubai (Pakistan win by 10 wickets)
Monday 25th - Afghanistan vs Scotland, Sharjah (Afghanistan win by 130 runs)
Tuesday 26th - South Africa vs West Indies, Dubai (South Africa win by 8 wickets)
Tuesday 26th - Pakistan vs New Zealand, Sharjah (Pakistan win by 5 wickets)
Wednesday 27th - England vs Bangladesh, Abu Dhabi (England win by 8 wickets)
Wednesday 27th - Scotland vs Namibia, Abu Dhabi (Namibia win by 4 wickets)
Thursday 28th - Australia vs Sri Lanka, Dubai (Australia win by 7 wickets)
Friday 29th - West Indies vs Bangladesh, Sharjah (West Indies win by 3 runs)
Friday 29th - Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Dubai (Pakistan win by 5 wickets)
Saturday 30th - South Africa vs Sri Lanka, Sharjah (South Africa win by 4 wickets)
Saturday 30th - Australia vs England, Dubai (England win by 8 wickets)
Sunday 31st - Afghanistan vs Namibia, Abu Dhabi (Afghanistan win by 62 runs)
Sunday 31st - India vs New Zealand, Dubai (New Zealand win by 8 wickets)


November

Monday 1st - England vs Sri Lanka, Sharjah (England win by 26 runs)
Tuesday 2nd - South Africa vs Bangladesh, Abu Dhabi (South Africa win by 6 wickets)
Tuesday 2nd - Pakistan vs Namibia, Abu Dhabi (Pakistan win by 45 runs)
Wednesday 3rd - New Zealand vs Scotland, Dubai (New Zealand win by 16 runs)
Wednesday 3rd - India vs Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (India win by 66 runs)
Thursday 4th - Australia vs Bangladesh, Dubai (Australia win by 8 wickets)
Thursday 4th - West Indies vs Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi (Sri Lanka win by 20 runs)
Friday 5th - New Zealand vs Namibia, Sharjah (New Zealand win by 52 runs)
Friday 5th - India vs Scotland, Dubai (India win by 8 wickets)
Saturday 6th - Australia vs West Indies, Abu Dhabi (Australia win by 8 wickets)
Saturday 6th - England vs South Africa, Sharjah (South Africa win by 10 runs)
Sunday 7th - New Zealand vs Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (New Zealand win by 8 wickets)
Sunday 7th - Pakistan vs Scotland, Sharjah (Pakistan win by 72 runs)
Monday 8th - India vs Namibia, Dubai (India win by 9 wickets)

Semi-Finals

Wednesday 10th - England vs New Zealand, Abu Dhabi (New Zealand win by 5 wickets)
Thursday 11th - Pakistan vs Australia, Dubai (Australia win by 5 wickets)

Final

Sunday 14th - New Zealand vs Australia, Dubai (Australia win by 8 wickets)

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T20 World Cup Records





Highest score: Sri Lanka 260-6 vs Kenya (Johannesburg, 14th September 2007)
Lowest score: Netherlands 39 all out vs Sri Lanka (Chattogram, 24th March 2014)
Highest match aggregate: 459 runs, England vs South Africa (Mumbai, 18th March 2016)
Lowest match aggregate: 79 runs, Netherlands vs Sri Lanka (Chattogram, 24th March 2014)
Highest successful run chase: England 230-8 vs South Africa (Mumbai, 18th March 2016)


Highest run-scorer: Mahela Jayawardene - 1,016
Highest average: Virat Kohli - 86.33
Biggest innings: 123, Brendon McCullum vs Bangladesh (Kandy, 21st September 2012)
Fastest century: 48 balls, Christopher Gayle vs England (Mumbai, 16th March 2016)
Fastest half-century: 12 balls, Yuvraj Singh vs England (Durban, 19th September 2007)
Most sixes in an innings: 11, Christopher Gayle vs England (Mumbai, 16th March 2016)
Highest partnership: 166, Mahela Jayawardene & Kumar Sangakkara vs West Indies (Bridgetown, 7th May 2010)
Most half-centuries in a tournament: 4, Matthew Hayden (2007) & Virat Kohli (2014)
Most runs in a tournament: 319, Virat Kohli (2014)
Most sixes in a tournament: 16, Christopher Gayle (2012)


Highest wicket-taker: Shahid Afridi - 39
Lowest average: Samuel Badree - 13.58
Lowest economy rate: Sunil Narine - 5.17
Most wickets in a tournament: 15, Ajantha Mendis (2012)
Best bowling figures: 6-8, Ajantha Mendis vs Zimbabwe (Hambantota, 18th September 2012)
Most extras conceded in an innings: 28, West Indies vs South Africa (Johannesburg, 11th September 2007)

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Full Squads

England: Eoin Morgan ©, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Tymal Mills, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib ©, Rashid Khan, Asghar Afghan, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Kareem Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen-ul-Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shapoor Zadran, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Usman Ghani

Australia: Aaron Finch ©, Ashton Agar, Dan Christian, Patrick Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Adam Zampa

Bangladesh: Mahmudullah Riyad ©, Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Naim, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Taskin Ahmed, Nurul Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shamim Hossain

India: Virat Kohli ©, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul Chahar, Ishan Kishan, Kannur Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy

Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie ©, Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Joshua Little, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O'Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector

Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus ©, Stephan Baard, Karl Birkenstock, Michau du Preez, Jan Frylinck, Zane Green, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, JJ Smit, Ruben Trumpelmann, Michael van Lingen, David Wiese, Craig Williams, Pikky Ya France

Netherlands: Pieter Seelaar ©, Colin Ackermann, Philippe Boissevain, Ben Cooper, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards (wk), Brandon Glover, Fred Klaassen, Stephan Myburgh, Max O'Dowd, Ryan ten Doeschate, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren

New Zealand: Kane Williamson ©, Todd Astle, Tim Southee, Mark Chapman, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi

Oman: Zeeshan Maqsood ©, Aqib Ilyas, Ayan Khan, Bilal Khan, Nester Dhamba, Fayyaz Butt, Jatinder Singh, Kaleemullah, Khawar Ali, Khurram Nawaz, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi, Sandeep Goud, Sufyan Mehmood, Suraj Kumar

Pakistan: Babar Azam ©, Asif Ali, Azam Khan, Haris Rauf, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood

Papua New Guinea: Assad Vala ©, Charles Amini, Simon Atai, Sese Bau, Kiplin Doriga (wk), Hiri Hiri, Jason Kila, Kabua Morea, Nosaina Pokana, Damien Ravu, Lega Siaka, Chad Sopa, Gaudi Toka, Tony Ura, Norman Vanua

Scotland: Kyle Coetzer ©, Richie Berrington, Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Hamza Tahir, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal

South Africa: Temba Bavuma ©, Quinton de Kock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaassen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi

Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka ©, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charath Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Ashen Bandara, Dushmantha Chameera, Kusal Perera (wk), Dinesh Chandimal, Wanindu Hasaranga, Praveen Jayawickrama, Kamindu Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Lahiru Madushanka, Ramesh Mendis, Nuwan Pradeep, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Lakshan Sandakan, Maheesh Theeksana

West Indies: Kieron Pollard ©, Christopher Gayle, Roston Chase, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Fletcher, Fabian Allen, Obed McCoy, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravi Rampaul, Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Hayden Walsh, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas

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Netherlands

There's no substitute for experience; an axiom that may well have been in the mind of Netherlands coach Ryan Campbell when he selected his 15-strong squad for this long-delayed tournament.  Captain Pieter Seelaar alone would qualify as a veteran for his fifteen-year international career (encompassing, among other highs, the last-ball Dutch victory over England at Lord's in the 2009 World Cup, in which Seelaar earned fleeting fame for his celebratory penguin dance after dismissing Paul Collingwood); but he's comfortably eclipsed by the real Dad's Army candidate, 41-year-old Ryan ten Doeschate, playing what may well be his final international tournament.  Several other players survive from the last major Dutch triumph against England in the 2014 edition of the World T20, including Myburgh, Cooper, Van Beek and Van der Gugten, so there's a solid and convincing core at the heart of the Oranje.

Added to that mix are the Somerset men Roelof van der Merwe and Paul van Meekeren; the former fresh from the Blast Finals at Edgbaston last month (though his form with the bat deserted him on the day), and the latter emerging with credit from his debut CPL campaign, in which he averaged a wicket per game and conceded less than eight an over.  A strong pace attack will be key to Dutch hopes, though they may find themselves let down in the spin department.  In the preliminary round they'll find themselves favourites against Namibia and underdogs versus Sri Lanka (though they'll undoubtedly hope to catch the ailing Asians napping); when push comes to shove, it'll likely be a straight shootout between them and Ireland for a place in the Super 12s, which should make their head-to-head on the tournament's second morning a riot of clogs, bogs and legside slogs.

Highest World Cup total: 193-4 vs Ireland (Sylhet, 2014)
Lowest World Cup total: 39 vs Sri Lanka (Chittagong, 2014)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Stephan Myburgh, 280 runs
Best World Cup innings: Tom Cooper, 72* vs Zimbabwe (Sylhet, 2014)
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Timm van der Gugten, 13 wickets
Best World Cup bowling figures: Ahsan Malik, 5-19 vs South Africa (Chattogram, 2014)

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Ireland

For a generation of breakthrough Irish cricketers who ascended to the international stage from humble, county-level Natwest Trophy roots, the twenty-over game seemed a cypher for a good many years.  Their swashbuckling was reserved for the fifty-over format that they'd cut their teeth on; their World T20 debut against Bangladesh in 2009 proved to be their first and last win in the tournament for fully five years, and remains the only time they've managed to progress past the preliminary round.  But with Test status under the belt, the majority of those trailblazers have now called time on their careers and stepped aside for the next crop of Irish talent, who are altogether more familiar with the challenges of the short form.

Old heads are still at the core of the side, with Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien opening the batting line-up - the latter having been promoted up the order in the last two years with great success - while Simi Singh fronts the attack and Andrew Balbirnie fills the all-rounder slot.  But 21-year-old Harry Tector (already one of Ireland's top ten T20 run-scorers of all time) and 22-year-old Curtis Campher are leading the way for the youth, while Gareth Delany has nailed down a place in the middle order since his 2019 debut with huge hitting capability and a handy line in economical wrist-spin.  With the bang-in-form Mark Adair handling death-bowling, this is a team capable of beating any opposition on their day; a warm-up win against Bangladesh in which Delany shone with an unbeaten 88 amply demonstrated that much.  But consistency - long the Irish Achilles heel - must be present if they're to shake off their World T20 curse and make their mark at this tournament.

Highest World Cup total: 189-4 vs Netherlands (Sylhet, 2014)
Lowest World Cup total: 68 vs West Indies (Guyana, 2010)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: William Porterfield, 253 runs
Best World Cup innings: Paul Stirling, 60 vs Zimbabwe (Sylhet, 2014)
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Alex Cusack & George Dockrell, 11 wickets
Best World Cup bowling figures: Alex Cusack, 4-18 vs Sri Lanka (Lord's, 2009)

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Oman

Having debuted on the World T20 stage in 2016, the bare minimum Oman would have wanted was to be back at the top table for the next tournament.  It wasn't always a smooth ride; the qualifiers saw them lose an automatic berth to Ireland, then get pipped by Namibia in the first play-off, leaving them to seal the deal against Hong Kong in the last-chance saloon.  The key thing is that they made it: now, thanks to the pandemic ravaging India, they find themselves in the unexpected and incredibly handy position of being one of the host nations for the opening round of matches.

Familiar conditions should favour them strongly.  Their top T20 wicket-taker, 33-year-old left-arm pacer Bilal Khan, tends to wreak havoc both in the powerplay and at the death, getting phenomenal swing with the new ball and spearing pinpoint yorkers in at the stumps to close out an innings.  Fellow veteran and southpaw Zeeshan Maqsood, besides skippering the side, leads Oman's spin attack from the front with his slow left-arm orthodox and acts as a pinch hitter in the middle order; at the death he can often be found partnering wicketkeeper and closer Naseem Khushi, whose ability to tee off from the first ball is invaluable in racking up defendable scores or getting the team over the line.  Whether home advantage alone will be enough remains to be seen, but Oman will have few better opportunities to progress past the first round of a major ICC tournament.

Highest World Cup total: 157-8 vs Ireland (Dharamshala, 2016)
Lowest World Cup total: 65-9 vs Bangladesh (Dharamshala, 2016)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Jatinder Singh, 49 runs
Best World Cup innings: Zeeshan Maqsood, 38 vs Ireland (Dharamshala, 2016)
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Munis Ansari, 3 wickets
Best World Cup bowling figures: Munis Ansari, 3-37 vs Ireland (Dharamshala, 2016)

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Papua New Guinea

Long the kings of the Pacific, Papua New Guinea had a decade of nearly-made-its in ICC qualifiers - narrowly missing out on a place at the 2014 World T20, the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World T20 - before things finally clicked in the run-up to this tournament, where they secured an automatic berth with only two defeats to Scotland and the Netherlands.  Led by redoubtable skipper Assad Vala, a towering 34-year-old who attacks fearlessly with the bat and bowls some miserly off-spin in the middle overs, PNG have hit on a winning formula in T20 seemingly at a cost to their one-day game, with their record in ODIs proving as disastrous in recent years as their twenty-over form has been stellar.

Vice-captain Charles Jordan "CJ" Amini, whose father and grandfather also represented the national side, may prove a handful to batsmen with his leg-breaks and lower-order hitting, while death-bowler Norman Vanua also shines with toe-crushing yorkers and powerful sixes aplenty.  As World Cup first-timers, PNG will probably be happy enough looking for a scalp in the preliminary round and learning from the overall experience; however, they've shown in the past that when they get on a roll, they can defy expectations with the very best.

Highest World Cup total: N/A
Lowest World Cup total: N/A
Leading World Cup run-scorer: N/A
Best World Cup innings: N/A
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: N/A
Best World Cup bowling figures: N/A

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Bangladesh

The steady rise of Bangladesh in world cricket hasn't been as fast or as painless as they might have hoped in any format, but in these early years of a new decade, it's beginning to look like the subcontinent's slumbering giant might just turn a few heads in the twenty-over game.  Since March their T20 record is 9 wins to 4 defeats, including series wins over Zimbabwe, Australia and New Zealand; the only question is whether they can continue that form into a tournament which hasn't treated them kindly in years gone by.  After reaching the Super 8s in 2007, they went winless through the 2009, 2010 and 2012 editions, crashed out in the Super 10s in 2014, and came within a whisker of a famous win against India in 2016 - needing just two off the last three balls - only to gift their opponents a hat-trick and lose by one single run.

But five and a half years have passed since that heartbreak, and the Tigers head into this World Cup placed 6th in the world rankings.  Skipper Mahmudullah is an experienced head leading an experienced core featuring seasoned veterans such as Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim; Mustafizur Rahman - "the Fizz" - still carries a weight on his shoulders as the golden boy who never quite fulfilled his huge potential, but youngster Nasum Ahmed has shone since his debut in March, which eases the pressure somewhat.  The only thorn in Bangladesh's side is the absence of the explosive Tamim Iqbal at the top of the order, ruled out due to knee troubles and a consequent lack of game time, forcing Mohammad Naim and Liton Das to open the batting.  On paper, there's no doubt that the Tigers should top their preliminary group with ease.  The real question is whether the momentum they gain - and the confidence that comes with it - will be enough to let them bloody a few noses further down the line.

Highest World Cup total: 180-2 vs Oman (Dharamsala, 2016)
Lowest World Cup total: 70 vs New Zealand (Kolkata, 2016)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Shakib Al Hasan, 567 runs
Best World Cup innings: Tamim Iqbal, 103* vs Oman (Dharamsala, 2016)
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Shakib Al Hasan, 30 wickets
Best World Cup bowling figures: Mustafizur Rahman, 5-22 vs New Zealand (Kolkata, 2016)

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Scotland

Missing out on the 2019 World Cup - at which they would have replaced the West Indies, no less - solely by virtue of an appalling umpiring decision and whisker-thin DLS calculation that went against them, Scotland had every reason to be positive going into the qualifiers for this tournament.  But it ended up being something of a slog for the boys in blue, and they only crossed the line at the last opportunity by pipping UAE in the playoffs.  Nevertheless, having made it to the party, they'll be looking to build on their 2016 debut showing, when they notched up a first World T20 win against Hong Kong.  Captain Kyle Coetzer certainly has the pedigree, fresh from being awarded an MBE for services to cricket and the ICC's award for associate cricketer of the decade, and at 37 he may not have too many more opportunities to stamp Scotland's mark on a major tournament.

He'll look to Calum MacLeod - scorer of that legendary ODI 140 against England in 2018 - to shoulder the burden of run-scoring (though MacLeod is now two years without a T20 half-century), alongside left-hander George Munsey - Scotland's highest-ranked T20 player - with his battery of sweeps and reverse-sweeps.  Supporting them is the in-form old hand Richie Berrington who excels at clearing the ropes, as does lower-order finisher Matthew Cross.  With the ball, Safyaan Sharif remains the senior figure, as he was three years ago when his dismissal of Mark Wood sealed the victory over England; however, the only real pace option is Brad Wheal, who impressed in the Hundred this summer but hasn't played a T20 international for four years.  Mark Watt and Hamza Tahir can provide left-hand finger-spin, but Scotland's only wrist-spinner is 31-year-old leggy Chris Greaves, handed his international debut just over a week ago, with a solitary appearance for Gloucestershire's second XI the peak of his domestic career.  To say that there's a lack of depth would be an understatement: the Scots absolutely need their top five to deliver with the bat and strike bowlers to do the job with the ball if they're to overcome the problems of a lengthy tail and samey attack.  Victory against Papua New Guinea on Tuesday is a must, while anything against Bangladesh is a bonus; presuming the Tigers top the group, Scotland's fixture against Oman on Thursday may end up being the win-or-bust shootout that decides who nicks the crucial second spot.

Highest World Cup total: 156-5 vs Afghanistan (Nagpur, 2016)
Lowest World Cup total: 136 vs Zimbabwe (Nagpur, 2016)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: George Munsey, 68 runs
Best World Cup innings: George Munsey, 41 vs Afghanistan (Nagpur, 2016)
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Mark Watt, 4 wickets
Best World Cup bowling figures: Mark Watt, 2-21 vs Zimbabwe (Nagpur, 2016)

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Fascinating first day. Oman steamrollered PNG in a straightforward opener, but a real upset in the late game as Scotland shocked Bangladesh. For a player who's come out of nowhere at 31, only capped this month and never having played top-level domestic cricket, Chris Greaves looked like a world-beater and fully deserved his man of the match award. His 45 single-handedly dragged Scotland up to a defendable score after their middle order collapse; then dismissing Shakib Al Hasan with his first ball and knocking over Mushfiqur with a googly on the first delivery of his second over turned it into a phenomenal all-round performance. Cat among the pigeons in Group B.