Story ICC World Twenty20 2018 (What if?)

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ICC World Twenty20 2018​

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The 2018 ICC Men's World T20 is the seventh edition of the ICC Men's World T20 Tournament, set to take place in South Africa between 13th August and 16th September. The tournament will follow the rules of the previous edition with 16 teams taking part. It will be held across six venues in South Africa, with Johannesburg hosting the Final. The qualification pathway is underway with the last six teams yet to be finalised.

In this Universe, the Asia Cup and CPL is postponed to November 2018 to clear the window for the World T20. All T20I Cricket played until then remains identical to real life.
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Venues​

Teams​

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Venues​

Cape Town​	​ Centurion​ ​	​ Durban​ ​
Newlands Cricket Ground​	​ SuperSport Park​ ​	​ Kingsmead Cricket Ground​ ​
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Capacity: 25,000​	Capacity: 22,000​	Capacity: 25,000​
Matches: 7​	Matches: 7​	Matches: 7​
Johannesburg​	Paarl​	Port Elizabeth​
New Wanderers Stadium​	Boland Park​	St. George's Park​
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Capacity: 34,000​	Capacity: 10,000​	Capacity: 19,000​
Matches: 8​	Matches: 8​	Matches: 8​

 

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Teams Qualified​

Hosts ​

Team ICC Ranking South Africa 6th

Super 10 in 2016 World Twenty20​

Team ICC Ranking Pakistan 1st Australia 2nd India 3rd New Zealand 4th England 5th West Indies 7th Afghanistan 8th Sri Lanka 9th Bangladesh 10th

World T20 Qualifier ​

Team ICC Ranking Zimbabwe 12th Ireland 17th TBD TBD TBD TBD

 

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Reserved.

 

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Reserved.

 

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Reserved.

 

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Reserved.

 

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Reserved.

 

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Reserved.

 

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ICC Announce Men's World T20 for August, South Africa to Host​

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The International Cricket Council has announced that South Africa will host the official Men's World T20 in 2018, set to take place in August. The decision came to be finalised after a discussion with the ICC Cabinet regarding the winning bids for hosting the tournament. South Africa were the winners, beating the West Indies who are reported to host the Women's Edition that will take part after the Men's tournament.

South Africa last hosted the tournament in the inaugural edition in 2007 which saw India lift the title beating Pakistan in the final, in what turned out to be an extremely successful campaign to lift T20 cricket into popularity. Since then there have been five editions which have seen four different teams lift the trophy, held across five different countries. This will be the first edition to be held by a previous host. It is set to be hosted in many venues across the country, which are yet to be announced and confirmed by ICC and CSA.

ICC also have reportedly changed the Super 10 format to "Super 12s", featuring an extra two teams that qualify from the unaffected Group Stage round that kicks the tournament off. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next round which will feature two groups of six- the top two from these groups advancing to the Semi-Finals. The ICC insists on the expansion for the growth of associate and smaller nations on the biggest cricketing stage, imparting more emphasis to the first round games and significantly lifting the chances for each team to advance to the next round.

ICC Chairman highlights- "South Africa are fortunate to host this edition of the prestigious tournament that has brought the sport revenue and fame all over these years. The second round expansion resulting in an extended tournament will also be a fresh and bright change to look forward to. A lot of good cricket has been played since the last edition in 2016 and all the sides have gone through changes and a multitude of great players will be enthusiastic to feature in this edition. The International Calendar has been a bit tight this year but a window has been cleared in August-September to host this year's Major Cricket Event. All the best and good wishes for the teams who qualify and participate, and it's time for another deserving title-holder"​

 

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ICC Announce Six Venues for ICC World Twenty20 2018 in South Africa​

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The International Cricket Council has listed six cities across South Africa as the official venues for the 2018 ICC World Twenty20.​

Cape Town
Durban
Johannesburg
Centurion
Paarl
Port Elizabeth

New Wanderers, Johannesburg has been chosen as the venue for the Final; while Newlands, Cape Town & Kingsmead, Durban will host alternate semi-finals. Boland Park, Paarl & St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth will host Group A and Group B in the preliminary stage respectively, and 2 Super 12 games each. Centurion Park, Centurion will host 7 games overall along with Durban and Cape Town, while Johannesburg will host the most with 8. ​

It is a privilege to host the prestigious tournament on our soil, says CSA chairman. "The venues chosen are reputed stadiums and the crowds will be hyped up for the big event happening after eleven years in this country. It is set to be a swashbuckling contest of the best teams around the world whom we will proudly host on our own soil"​

 

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WT20 Qualifier: Zimbabwe, Ireland through to 2018 World Twenty20​

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Test Nations Zimbabwe & Ireland are the first two of the teams through to the 2018 World T20 from the qualifier, which guarantees the final six berths for the 16-team tournament in August. This would fix their spots as the 11th and 12th confirmed team in the tournament, with 4 spots still left to be contested in the qualifiers playoffs.​

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They finished on top of their respective groups, earning them a spot in the Semi Finals of the qualifiers and a direct ticket to the World T20 without having to win any knockout games. They will play the winners of the preliminary knockout games between Scotland & Hong Kong and Netherlands & UAE, who will also be joining them in the World T20 2018 as the 13th and 14th teams upon victory. The last two spots will be decided in the 5th place playoff knockouts contested by the losing teams from these games and Nepal & Oman, who finished fourth in their respective groups.​

Zimbabwe Captain Hamilton Masakadza says that it is indeed a proud moment for all Zimbabweans for the country to contest it out on African Soil after so long. After all the internal conflicts and troubles of the past year, it will be a fresh campaign to look after.

Irish skipper Gary Wilson also states that it is a great achievement for Ireland to qualify directly to the World T20 as one of the first two teams from the Qualifier. Says the competition was tough and the journey is not over, but they will be looking forward to the tournament after the disappointment in 2016, ready to take it up a notch.
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