T20 World Cup organisers confirm rule change for England’s final against Pakistan as rain threatens to wreak havoc on Melbourne contest… and it could mean the two nations have to SHARE the trophy
- T20 World Cup organisers have tweaked regulations for Sunday’s final
- England and Pakistan are scheduled to meet at the MCG to fight for the trophy
- However, showers are forecast for Melbourne during the showpiece event
- A reserve day is scheduled for Monday 14 November but rain is also forecast
- Organisers have extended the window of play by two hours for the reserve day
- If a 10-over-per-side contest cannot be played, the trophy will be shared
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World Cup organisers have changed the playing regulations ahead of Sunday’s T20 men’s final between England and Pakistan with rain threatening to cause chaos in Melbourne.
The two nations are scheduled to meet at 7pm local time (8am GMT) at the MCG, but the city has been plagued by heavy rain over the past month and showers are forecast for the game.
A reserve day is scheduled for Monday 14 November but rain is also forecast for that day, sending tournament organisers into a spin as to how to ensure a contest is played.
Changes to playing regulations have been made of the Twenty20 World Cup final in Melbourne
As a result, two hours have been added to allow play to continue late into Monday evening.
In a worst case scenario, if a 10-over-per-side contest cannot transpire, then England and Pakistan will be declared joint winners, in what would be a tournament first.
The tournament’s playing conditions set out that ‘every effort’ will be made to ensure Sunday’s final is complete, with the fallback option of using a reserve day a last resort.
Jos Buttler’s England side take on Pakistan for the major prize but it is set to rain at the MCG
Two hours have been added to the reserve day and the trophy could end up being shared
However, if the reserve day is required the match will continue into Monday, instead of being restarted. That means it will be played under the same conditions as the day before, that is, if a 10-over per side match starts on Sunday, it will remain a 10-over match into Monday.
The latest change to the regulations means that there will be a window of seven hours and 10 minutes to complete the match on the reserve day. If required, play will start at 3pm local time (4am GMT).
Rain has blighted much of the tournament this year, with a host of matches affected or called off altogether by the weather.
England’s meeting with Australia was washed out at the MCG and they were beaten by Ireland due to the Duckworth-Lewis method as a result of heavy rain at the same ground.
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