Channel 4 will show the T20 World Cup final after Sky Sports agreed to make another sports show free – but the weather in Melbourne could spoil the party.
Ian Katz, Channel 4’s chief content officer, said he was “delighted” to reach the deal with rights holder Sky, having done the same deal to show England’s 2019 World Cup one-day win.
Channel 4 has gained the upper hand on the BBC and ITV for a number of big sporting moments in recent years. It secured an 11th-hour deal with pay broadcasters to show Emma Raducanu’s historic US Open title last year. The channel also partnered with Sky to show the dramatic crescendo to the 2021 Formula 1 season and swooped earlier this year to secure the rights to England’s European Championship qualifiers.
All channels will broadcast Sky Sports coverage which includes the award-winning commentary team of Ian Ward and former England captains Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton and Eoin Morgan.
When is the T20 World Cup final?
The final between Pakistan and England will take place at the MCG on Sunday, November 13 and will start, weather permitting, at 08:00 (GMT – 19:00 in Australia).
What TV channel will it be on?
As mentioned above, the T20 World Cup final will be shown on free-to-air TV in the UK after Sky agreed to share coverage of the showpiece with Channel 4.
What is the weather forecast and will it rain?
This tournament could be the biggest T20 World Cup in its 15-year history, but the Super 12 stages in particular were beset by rain, with Australia’s east coast hit by the La Niña weather system for the third consecutive spring. Three of the Sixers’ matches in Melbourne were washed out, including England’s meeting with Australia, while their match against Ireland was rain-shortened.
The game is due to start at 19:00 local time on Sunday evening. Rain looks almost certain to arrive after lunchtime on Sunday, threatening the completion – yes the start – of that day’s match. The final, unlike the group stage, requires 10 overs per side to constitute a match.
Thankfully there is a spare day, Monday. But the prognosis is then also bad. The organizers have moved the scheduled start time to 15:00 (04:00 GMT) and have decided that there will be an additional four hours to play. The game could essentially last until around 11pm on Monday for it to be finished. Any overs bowled on Sunday will be carried over, and play will resume on Monday.
There’s a stadium across town with a roof, why not move there?
Yes, Docklands Stadium is a short tram ride from the MCG. But it’s a multi-purpose venue that hosts AFL, concerts and all sorts of other things, and the drop-in locations aren’t done yet. The first cricket match there this year, between Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Thunder, is not until December 18.
Perhaps, in hindsight, having Docklands available as a reserve day contingency might have been a good plan, but that’s easier said than done. An Indian cultural celebration takes place there on Saturday evening.
What happens if the final is tied?
England fans will never forget the 2019 final draw against New Zealand. Then England only needed to tie the super over to win the WC, on cross-border countback, an obscure verdict. In the wake of that controversy, the ICC changed the procedure: a tied superover will lead to another superover, and so on, until the teams can be separated.
If the match is tied and the super over is washed out, the trophy is set to be shared.
What is the latest team news?
By Tim Wigmore
England’s Mark Wood and Dawid Malan appear to be losing the race to be fit on Sunday. The pair played England’s first four matches of the tournament but picked up injuries against Sri Lanka which ruled them out of the big semi-final win over India.
Wood has a right hip injury while Malan has a groin injury.
Wood did not paint an optimistic picture on the BBC’s Good Pace For Radio podcast, which he co-hosts with Tymal Mills, an unused member of the England squad. Wood admitted he had walked with a limp before the India game and of the pair, Malan seems more likely to face Pakistan.
“I felt my right hip in the first over against Sri Lanka, went off at the end of the over, went to the toilet and saw the physio to try and collect my thoughts and feelings,” he said. “In the end I managed to get through the rounds because my adrenaline was up.
“When the adrenaline wore off I had a bit of a problem with my right hip. I’ve had a scan, looked at it. I tried to make the game but couldn’t bowl with the intensity and speed required to play for England. I couldn’t get the hip going .
“I realized the day before that I wasn’t going to be good enough to play. That was the toughest, another case of an injury keeping me out of playing when I’m doing all the right things, I’m bowling well, I’m in good shape .
“Hopefully, if needed, I can try to get it right for this game. I don’t know if I will be able to. The team did really well last game, but if the captain desperately needs me and I’m fit enough, I’ll put my name in the hat like everyone else.”
Wood said the three-Test tour of Pakistan in December, for which he is in the squad, would not factor into the calculations when assessing his fitness for this game.
“It’s important but frankly I don’t look past this,” he said. “I want the team and everyone to be successful here. I think we played really well last game, it was just a bit of a scramble for myself.”
What are the odds?
- England 33/50
- Pakistan 7/5
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