Three of the four games scheduled in Florida have ended in washouts but the forecast is clear for the dead rubber between Ireland and Pakistan
The weather in Florida, one of the three American venues for the 2024 T20 World Cup, has been a major spoilsport in the tournament. Scheduled four matches in the group stage, the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground has seen three consecutive abandoned games.
Ireland and Pakistan, both green teams in Group A, have been sailing in the same boat. They were knocked out before their third group game.
Before flying back home, both teams will face each other in their last game in Florida. It is a dead rubber but an opportunity for both sides to leave the tournament with a mark. Ireland, especially, are yet to win a match. Thankfully, the weather forecast is finally clear for cricket with the chances of rain under 10% during the game. Florida should see some cricket before the World Cup moves to the Caribbean for the Super 8s and the knockouts.
However, the Irish haven’t had the rub of the green. They are the only side with two matches scheduled in Florida. With their previous game also here, they have been forced to stay indoors for about a week heading to the clash.
“It’s (the inclement weather) been a challenge from a preparation point of view. We haven’t trained at all since we’ve been down in Florida the last week, so that is what it is,” said Ireland’s head coach Heinrich Malan.
“We’ve been having our unit meetings and preparation meetings and just going over some of those plans that we’ve managed to execute pretty well back home. We can piggyback on that and hopefully, we can go well again tomorrow,” Malan added in the media interaction before the clash.
What are the Irish players doing then in the build-up of their final match if not training? Well, football is the answer.
“We’ve tried to keep the lads busy as much as we can, doing our preparation and our analytics work in the background, and just keeping them physically actively. The boys are playing a bit of soccer and trying to just get the competitive juices flowing as well leading into tomorrow,” the former first-class cricketer answered.
Ireland were scheduled all their group games in the United States of America. The US leg of the tournament has seen volatile batting conditions alongside some important games getting rained off.
“It’s been a pretty weird World Cup. It’s obviously disappointing but at the end of the day, we can’t really control the weather,” Malan reflected on Ireland’s fortunes in this World Cup.
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