Australia have been knocked out of the 2026 T20 World Cup after Zimbabwe’s clash against Ireland was called off due to rain.
Ireland have also been eliminated from the tournament after officials in Kandy deemed that no play was possible.
Rain began to fall before the match, with groundstaff having rushed to pull on the covers.
Both Ireland and Zimbabwe will be awarded one point as a result, with Zimbabwe qualifying for the Super Eight stage for the first time in the history of the men’s T20 World Cup.
Australia had been hoping for a miracle after they suffered a bruising eight-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka on Monday afternoon.
Mitchell Marsh’s side had been left with two points after suffering two defeats and one victory during their opening three matches.
The Aussie skipper said after the match that his side were in ‘in the lap of the Gods now’.
But those hopes were washed away by the rain, with Zimbabwe securing second place in Group B behind Sri Lanka, having amassed five points.
To qualify, Australia needed Zimbabwe to lose both of their remaining group-stage matches against Ireland and Sri Lanka. Marsh’s side then needed to convincingly defeat Oman in their final match on Friday to have a hope of placing second in the group.
It is also a frustrating result for Ireland, who were eyeing up a late charge to usurp Zimbabwe as second in the group. To qualify, Ireland would have needed to have claimed a convincing victory against Zimbabwe today and another win in their final group-stage match against Oman.
Aussie greats hit out at side’s embarrassing exit
Australia have vastly underwhelmed during this tournament and questions are now being asked of their preparations coming into the World Cup.
Their defeat by Sri Lanka compounded those woes further, with star opener Pathum Nissanka bludgeoning Australia’s bowling attack away as he struck a brilliant century off 52 balls.
‘A lot of emotions in the room. We have not been at our best,’ Marsh said.
‘Not much to say apart from the fact that Sri Lanka outplayed us.’
Steve Smith was flown over to Sri Lanka as cover for injured skipper Mitchell Marsh, but was not used during his side’s must-win game against Sri Lanka on Monday.
Meanwhile, Aussie selectors opted to drop fellow batsman Matt Renshaw for the match, despite him having been Australia’s top scorer during their previous defeat by Zimbabwe. Renshaw struck 65 off 44 deliveries after having previously scored 37 runs in their opening clash against Ireland.
Despite two half-centuries from Travis Head and Marsh, Cameron Green and Tim David both struggled to break into double figures, while Australia’s middle order batters also struggled to withstand the Sri Lankan bowling attack.
Australia’s bowlers have also struggled, with Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa both failing to take wickets in both of their two previous matches.
The team’s selectors have also been criticised for failing to deploy reserve player Sean Abbott. The medium-fast bowler had taken seven wickets in the last six T20I matches he has bowled in, but did not feature in any of the group stage matches.
More to follow…
