England will face India in the second World Cup T20 semi-final but they could be eliminated without facing a ball.
Jos Buttler‘s side cruised through to the last four with a ten-wicket win over the USA in which Chris Jordan made history by becoming the first England bowler to take a hat-trick in T20 cricket.
The defending champions are set to play against one of the pre-tournament favourites, India, on Thursday, June 27, in Guyana.
However, should the game be abandoned because of rain, England would crash out without even facing a ball due to a strange tournament rule.
This is because there is no reserve day scheduled for the second semi-final, which is set to start at 3:30pm in the UK.
There is a reserve day for the first semi-final between South Africa and Afghanistan, so if that match is postponed because of rain, they will get to play the following day.
But England have been afforded no such luxury, which is important because the forecast for Thursday at the Guyana National Stadium is very poor, meaning there is a good chance the match is abandoned.
If it is called off, India would automatically progress to the final because they finished top of their Super 8s group, while England were second.
The reason there is no reserve day is to allow the team in the second semi-final time to travel to Barbados for the final on Saturday, June 29.
However, there is also reserve day scheduled for the final.
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There are provisions in place to ensure that there is at least some play despite not having a reserve day.
The game is due to start at 10:30am local time, and 250 extra minutes have been allotted within the day should there be bad weather.
But the current forecast suggests it will rain all day, meaning those 250 minutes could be totally wasted.
Plus, India have known they would be playing in the second semi-final since the start of the tournament because it’s better for broadcasting back in their home country.
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It’s a unique scenario, and cricket expert Jarrod Kimber isn’t happy and thinks things need to change for the 2026 World Cup.
Speaking to the talkSPORT Cricket YouTube channel, he said: “India have extra spinners in part because they knew they were going to have to go through Guyana.
“They knew they were going to have to go through that pitch to get to the final. Why tell them beforehand? It’s baffling.”
Meanwhile, David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd also isn’t happy.
Also speaking to the talkSPORT Cricket YouTube channel, he said: “It just isn’t fair.
“We are just manipulating the tournament for the benefit of the few.
“If you look at the TV audience in India, they would watch it at any time – it is their religion.
“So, it must be some commercial value that overrides the competition itself.”
We are really in a situation where if it rains all day, England will lose their title without actually getting the chance to take on India.
It’s a very strange scenario, and we just have to hope the weather forecast is wrong so we get a game.
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