The USA’s match against Ireland in Florida was rained out, meaning they advanced to the T20 World Cup Super 8s.
The outfield was flooded and did not dry out in time due to tropical storms and floods that occurred earlier in the week.
The five-over match cutoff time was set at 19:16 BST, while the match was scheduled to begin at 15:30 BST.
India’s match against Canada is set to go place at the same location on Saturday after the match between Sri Lanka and Nepal was eliminated on Wednesday.
However, there are large puddles on the outfield due to a strong rain that followed the abandonment, raising more doubts about that game.
Co-hosts USA and India advance to the next round together, eliminating Ireland, Canada, and Pakistan in the process.
Out of the other groups, South Africa, Afghanistan, Australia, and the West Indies have also qualified.
For a team that is rated 18th in the world, participating in their first World Cup and having only played their first T20 international in 2019, this is an incredible accomplishment.
They upset Pakistan in a thrilling over, defeated Canada in a high-scoring thriller in the tournament’s first over, and then battled valiantly against the cricketing heavyweights, India.
However, it brings an end to an unsatisfactory competition for Ireland, who lost their first two group games but still have a chance to win a consolation match on Sunday against Pakistan.
Speaking on Test Match Special, Irish cricket analyst Andrew Leonard predicted that the Irish players would be “aghast” when their World Cup campaign came to an end.
“I imagine it is going to be the most forlorn Irish dressing room, this is not indicative of where Irish cricket is at by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.
“If you look at Ireland, they have been so poor this tournament compared to how well they have played in the last 12-18 months, 10 really poor overs against Canada means that Ireland’s Super 8s dreams have been dashed.”
Alex Hartley of BBC Test Match Special went on to say that the USA “fully deserve” to be in their circumstances.
World Cup champion Hartley stated, “We were looking at the groups before the tournament and thinking, right, India and Pakistan go through from this one.”
“But after they overcame Canada and made us pay attention, we could truly see that they functioned as a team when they played Pakistan.”
“They are all still learning, but they have been quite outstanding. They bowl according to clear strategies and communicate well. They are in this condition because they deserve it.”
The USA, who advanced to the final eight here and are now also qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup, will take against South Africa in Antigua on Wednesday, June 19, to kick off the Super 8s.
