Cricket Feb 18, 2026

T20 World Cup: Australia out of tournament in embarrassing group-stage exit after Zimbabwe vs Ireland rained off

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
T20 World Cup: Australia out of tournament in embarrassing group-stage exit after Zimbabwe vs Ireland rained off

Australia will make an embarrassing group-stage exit from the Men's T20 World Cup after Zimbabwe's match against Ireland was rained off.

Defeats to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka left Australia on two points from their first three matches and needing multiple results to work in their favour for them to have any chance of reaching the Super 8s.

Australia required Zimbabwe to lose to Ireland on Tuesday, but the match was abandoned without any play to see Zimbabwe earn the point required for them to secure a top-two finish in Group B.

Zimbabwe move to five points from three matches, one behind group leaders Sri Lanka, with Australia - who can only earn a maximum of four points - now guaranteed an early exit regardless of the result against Oman on Friday.

The no-result means Ireland will also be eliminated, ending with three points from their four matches, with Oman also failing to progress from the group.

Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka will now fight it out for top spot in the group when they meet in Colombo on Thursday, live from 9.30am on Your Site Cricket.

After a comprehensive 67-run win over Ireland in their opening match, two successive losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka took the Baggy Greens' tournament out of their control.

Injury and selection issues have surrounded Australia's campaign, with captain Mitch Marsh only featuring once, and the decision not to replace him with Steve Smith coming under fire from legendary batter Mark Waugh.

"I think that the whole campaign was doomed from the get-go with selection issues and injuries," Waugh said on SEN radio in Australia.

"To me, the non-selection of Steve Smith in the squad originally is the most baffling non-selection I can remember for ages."

Australia's bowling has suffered from similar injury and selection issues to their batting. The Baggy Greens have taken four wickets in their last two games - a staggering figure for a side that usually boasts one of the best bowling attacks in world cricket.

Mitchell Starc's retirement from T20 cricket, alongside injuries to Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, meant the Baggy Greens had to face their first international tournament without a single one of their world champion fast-bowling trio in a decade.

Their absence was doubtless felt most when Pathum Nissanka stormed to his 100 off 52 balls for Sri Lanka to put the nail in Australia's coffin.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, advance to the Super 8s stage with a flawless start, matching their best ever World Cup performance in 2022.

Zimbabwe captain Sikanadar Raza speaking on Your Site:

"I'll take you back to when we we played our sub-regional qualifiers. We played Kenya, Rwanda and all those teams. I stood up to my troops and said 'we are in this position because of us - there's no one else to blame only us can get us out of it.

"We'll celebrate, but only a very short time - we have a travel day and then a game against Sri Lanka. This was not the only goal we set out for.

"This is a tick in the box, but we have a lot more to achieve. Everyone loves an underdog story. We are trying our best to earn more respect for Zimbabwe."

Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker speaking on Your Site:

"Something we're quite familiar with as Irish people. Didn't want it to end in this fashion, but it wasn't to be today. It felt like we were building some momentum after the Oman game, but it came too late. That's the way the tournament fell for us.

Our group gained great experience from this tournament. We're hoping to have some good moments in the next couple of years."

Watch every game from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup live on Your Site Cricket, including the competition final on Sunday March 8. or

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