T20 World Cup: With rain threat over Pakistan-England final in Melbourne, here’s what ICC rules say

In a ICC Men’s T20 World Cup where rain has had a significant say already, there is a serious threat of one final interruption and a major one at that.

After 44 matches spanning nearly a month, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is scheduled to host the final on Sunday between Jos Buttler’s England and Pakistan’s Babar Azam. The match will determine who joins the West Indies as the only two-time winners of the men’s tournament.

Pakistan tasted victory in 2009 when they beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final, while England won it a year later with a seven-wicket win over Australia.

Rain could though spoil the party with a 100% chance of showers forecast and even severe thunderstorms. A reserve day has been set aside on Monday but the weather is again expected to be bleak, raising the prospect of a washout and the trophy being shared.

A minimum of 10 overs per side is needed to constitute a game, compared to five during the group stages. If the match starts on Sunday but isn’t finished, it will resume on Monday from where it was halted.

FINAL WINNERS

a) In the event of a tied final, the teams shall compete in a Super Over to determine which team is the winner. 

b) If following a tie, weather conditions prevent the Super Over from being completed, or if the match is abandoned or a no result, the teams shall be declared joint winners.

Three games at the MCG in the Super 12 stage fell victim to rain.

A tweak from ICC

Organisers on Friday tweaked the rules to give two hours’ extra play on Monday should it be needed to complete the match.

“The Event Technical Committee (ETC) has increased the provision of additional playing time on the reserve day to four hours from the original provision of two hours (clause 13.7.3 of the Playing Conditions), in case more time is required to complete the match and get a result,” the ICC media advisory said on Friday.

“It may be noted that 10 overs per side are required to constitute a match in the knockout stage and every effort will be taken to complete the match on the scheduled match day. Every effort will be made for the match to be completed on Sunday, with any necessary reduction of overs taking place and only if the minimum number of overs necessary to constitute a match cannot be bowled on Sunday will the match go into the reserve day. Play on the reserve day will begin at 15h00 and would be a continuation of play from the scheduled match day.”

How does reserve day work?

As per the playing conditions, “Every effort will be made to complete the match on the scheduled day with any necessary reduction in overs taking place and only if the minimum number of overs necessary to constitute a match cannot be bowled on the scheduled day will the match be completed on the reserve day.”

The match starts when the coin toss takes place and teams are exchanged. If the toss occurs on the scheduled day and there is no play thereafter, the result of the toss and the named teams shall be carried through to the Reserve Day. 

Example 1: Match starts at 20 overs per side and there is an interruption at 9 overs. Overs are reduced to 17 overs per side and play is about to resume. Before another ball is bowled it rains and play is abandoned for the day. As the match did not resume under the revised overs, the match should continue on the Reserve Day at the original 20 overs per side with the overs reduced if necessary during the Reserve Day. 

Example 2: The same start as in example 1 i.e. match starts at 20 overs per side and there is an interruption at 9 overs. Overs are reduced to 17 overs per side and play is about to resume. This time, play starts and after an over has been bowled it rains and play is abandoned for the day. As the match has resumed, it is continued on the Reserve Day at 17 overs per side with the overs further reduced if necessary during the Reserve Day

The complete tournament Playing Conditions are available here.