When the T20 World Cup was scheduled in Australia in the month of October, a lot of eyebrows were raised especially by the locals themselves. They knew the conditions wouldn’t be conducive, among them mainly rain threats could be a cause of concern. Although this edition is perhaps one of the best editions which has thrown away some great games, including a lot of upsets, rains have continued to play a dampener. Even before the big final at the iconic MCG, rain threat is ‘quite serious’ and every ardent cricket fan is fearing that W word.
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Meanwhile, England are all set to take on Pakistan in the final where there is a high chance of persistent rains. The La Nina weather phenomenon has put the final on Sunday under serious threat. The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed a 95 per cent rain in the Victorian Capital on Sunday evening, the summit clash can be moved to the reserve day on Monday.
However, even on Monday there is a 95 percent chance of rain. So, high chance the match might get washed out. On the reserve day, a 3 pm (local time) slot has been allotted with an additional two hours in place to complete the game.
I spent the week advising people not to pay attention to Melbourne forecasts until the day before the World Cup final. It’s the day before the World Cup final. pic.twitter.com/Y07g3Yon5Y— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) November 11, 2022
Earlier this year, Andrew Watkins, the Bureau of Meteorology’s head of long-range forecasting, had warned about the La Nina phenomenon striking the East Coast, which could turn out to be frustrating for the organisers of the marquee event.
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“At the moment, this La Nina isn’t looking particularly strong and it’s looking like it will peak probably fairly early in the summer or late in the spring. Which is a little bit unusual, a little bit different to the La Ninas that we’ve been seeing in recent years,” Watkins told ABC last month.
“Cloudy. Very high (near 100%) chance of showers. The chance of a thunderstorm, possibly severe. Light winds becoming north to northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h during the morning then tending north to northwesterly during the day,” the Bureau of Meteorology predicted on Friday morning.
England will be up against Pakistan in the big final at the MCG. While Pakistan beat New Zealand to register the last two spot, England beat India to enter the last two. England and Pakistan had also met in the final of the 1992 World Cup here in Australia with Pakistan winning the match by 22 runs.
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