[ad_1]
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has welcomed the expansion of the T20 World Cup to 20 countries after co-hosts USA produced one of the biggest upsets in T20 World Cup history by defeating Pakistan on Thursday.
This World Cup, also co-hosted by the West Indies, adds four teams, giving emerging cricket nations more experience of major tournaments, but also raising concerns that their participation could mean more one-sided results.
Williamson, who played in his first T20 World Cup in 2012 when Sri Lanka had 12 teams in the tournament, said the larger field was a “fantastic thing”.
“This exposure can only be beneficial for all the teams,” he told reporters over a video call from Guyana.
“When the game starts, anything can happen, that’s the beauty of this sport.
“But it’s ultimately great for the development of cricket.”
The United States, which secured qualification as co-host nation, defeated Pakistan in a Super Over format in Dallas after defeating fellow first-time participant Canada.
The undefeated United States currently tops Group A and will face heavyweight India next week. The top two teams in the group will advance to the Super Eights.
Williamson said his players watched Pakistan’s match from their base in the Caribbean.
“It was a great game of cricket,” he added.
“In these tournaments, every team has really talented players, whether they have experience playing against Test-playing nations or not.
“To some extent, it depends on how you perform on the day.”
New Zealand are bidding for their first World Cup title and their long-awaited match will be against Afghanistan in Guyana on Friday.
“We were one of the last teams to start playing, so I knew that after about 10 days of practice, we were all looking forward to getting started,” he said.
[ad_2]
Source link
