Rain is expected to interrupt high-profile matches during the Super 12 stage of the event, tarnishing the image of the T20 World Cup.
The MCG will host the sold-out match between sub-continental rivals India and Pakistan on Sunday night, but Melbourne’s weather looks bleak.
Currently, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts that there will be showers in the Victorian capital on that day, most likely in the evening.
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Around 100,000 tickets have been booked for the eagerly anticipated match, and hundreds of millions are expecting to watch the 20-over match globally.
225 million people watched this year’s Asia Cup match, compared to 229 million who watched the equivalent game during the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia.
According to The Daily Telegraph, fans at the T20 World Cup are entitled to a full refund if fewer than 10 overs are played, which may require the tournament’s organizers to pay $7 million in compensation.
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The T20 World Cup group stage matches have no spare days scheduled, although the semifinal and championship games have backup times available.
The effects of the La Nina climate driver, which the Bureau of Meteorology certified had returned for the summer of 2022–2023 earlier this year, are already felt across the nation.
Unfortunately, over the following four days, places in Victoria and New South Wales that have experienced flooding might get more than 100mm of rain.
Heavy rain forced the cancellation of warm-up matches between Bangladesh and South Africa at Allan Border Field and India and New Zealand at the Gabba.
According to Sky News meteorologist Rob Sharpe, “La Nina often causes more cloud cover and more rainfall in eastern, northern, and central Australia.” Last year.
Additionally, it causes temperatures in certain areas to typically be close to or below average.
“There is a higher than usual possibility of rainfall, therefore there is a higher chance that games potentially won’t take place, especially for the matchups in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne.”
To the chagrin of the T20 World Cup organizers, the head of long-range forecasting for the Bureau of Meteorology Andrew Watkins, predicted that La Nina would hit the east coast earlier than usual this summer.
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Last month, Watkins told ABC that this La Nina “isn’t looking very powerful at the moment and it’s looking like it will peak either fairly early in the summer or late in the spring.”
Which is a little bit strange and distinct from the La Ninas we’ve been experiencing lately.
Over the previous 122 years, Australia has seen this unusual climate event 16 times.
Another sold-out event, Australia’s T20 World Cup opener against New Zealand on Saturday night at the SCG, is also in jeopardy. With between 10 and 25mm of rain anticipated and potential thunderstorms, the Bureau of Meteorology presently predicts a 90% likelihood of rain that day, most likely in the afternoon and evening.
