 "A woman walks through a flooded street in Northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida. AP")
Prospect for cricket in Florida got a much-needed boost following a dry start to Thursday, ahead of Lauderhill hosting three T20 World Cup Group A matches over the next three days, with crucial games for the USA and Pakistan. Not to forget, Ireland and Canada are still in contention. If the first match between USA and Ireland on Friday gets rained out, USA will secure a spot in the Super Eight as the second team from Group A.
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Despite some flight cancellations into Florida on Wednesday, all teams, production crews, and commentators managed to reach Fort Lauderdale on Thursday. While there were still flight delays due to bad weather en route, Fort Lauderdale stayed dry until late afternoon. Although there was a drizzle in the evening, it was expected to clear up by nightfall, with predictions of some showers from 9 AM to 11 AM on Friday. However, flash flood warnings for the broader area remained in effect.
As per Accuweather, Lauderhill is expected to remain cloudy, receive showers, heavy thunderstorm and could see flooding as a result on Friday. With USA vs Ireland set to start at 10:30 AM local time (8 PM IST), there are chances of showers a half hour later but expected to subside for the remainder of the afternoon.
Impact Shorts
View AllThe playing conditions at the stadium brought hope. Mark Adair, the all-rounder from Ireland, was impressed by the conditions, mentioning that the ground seemed quite dry despite some wet patches.
“I don’t think there was too many people who came to leave the hotel, but no, at the ground today, it was actually remarkably dry,” Adair said as per ESPNCricinfo. “I think there’s still wet patches over the far side of the ground but you know considering what the place has been through 24 hours before I think the place is looking pretty good.”
USA’s opening batter Steven Taylor, a Florida native, praised the good drainage at the venue, expressing confidence in the possibility of cricket being played.
“Growing up here at the stadium, it has always had a nice drainage,” Taylor said. “So, we always hope that once the next day doesn’t rain, there’ll always be cricket. But we can’t stop the weather. So, whatever happens, we just have to work with it.”
USA’s left-arm seamer, Saurabh Netravalkar, emphasised that their team was focused on preparing for the match as scheduled, irrespective of the weather conditions.
“Actually I haven’t thought about it [the weather] at all,” Netravalkar said hours before leaving from New York on Wednesday evening. “Now we are seeing and hearing that there’s rain, but from our perspective, what is controllable is to expect that we are going to have a full game and we have to try our best to get a victory ‘cause even Ireland is a top side. They might have lost two games, but they’re a good team.”
In terms of qualification scenarios , USA can secure a spot by beating Ireland or even with a draw. Pakistan, on the other hand, are depending on no team surpassing four points. For Pakistan to advance, they need Ireland to defeat the USA and then secure a win against Ireland on Sunday. Canada, who defeated Ireland previously, require USA to lose against Ireland for a chance to progress if they manage an upset against India on Saturday.