Eoin Morgan explains why England is 'joint second' favorite to win T20 World Cup 2022

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday announced the schedule for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 which will be played in Australia in October-November. The eighth edition of the showpiece event will be played from October 16 to November 13 with the tournament hosts defending the title.

Months ahead of the T20 World Cup, England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan reckons that the reigning ODI world champions are the ‘joint second’ favorites after the hosts Australia. Giving further clarification on the same, the southpaw mentioned that they are well aware of the conditions Down Under which gives them enough confidence to lift the trophy.

“Given Australia won, they would go in favorites. I’d like to think we’d be joint second, if we continue on a reasonable run of form between now and then, probably with India and Pakistan. We know Australia’s different, we know our guys play really well in Australia”, said Morgan while speaking to Perth Now.

“It makes us feel a little bit more at ease than planning for conditions that we might not go in as one of the favorites. It makes us feel a little bit comfortable, we know what works in Australia,” he added.

ICC T20 World Cup 2022 schedule

The first-round matches will be played from October 16 to 21 with the qualifying teams vying for a spot in the Super 12. The Super 12 gets underway on October 22 with last edition’s finalists Australia and New Zealand locking horns at the Sydney Cricket Ground. England will kickstart their campaign on the very same day against Afghanistan in Perth. All eyes will be on the blockbuster clash between arch-rivals India & Pakistan at the iconic MCG on October 23. The semi-finals will be played at the SCG and the Adelaide Oval on November 9 and 10 respectively while the summit clash will be played on October 13 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

England were on a roll in the T20 World Cup 2021 that was played in the UAE. They won four straight Super 12 games before a loss to South Africa in their final inconsequential encounter. However, their hopes of making a consecutive final appearance were dashed by the eventual runners-up New Zealand.