T20 World Cup 2022: 3 pacers from Round 1 who could wreak havoc in the Super 12
We're finally in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup after the conclusion of the week-long Round 1, which was nothing short of spectacular. All the teams won at least one game, showing how competitive it was. Two-time champions West Indies failed to qualify as well.
Even Scotland and Namibia, who created chaos in the opening two days with their wins over WI and SL, couldn't make it through. Apart from a couple of games, the pitches were slow in nature, contrary to the usual Australian surfaces.
However, with the World Cup now headed towards some of the bigger venues, one can expect some fiery surfaces, which will bring the pacers into the game even more than till now. All four teams that have qualified have a few quality pacers in their ranks, and here we shall look at three of them who could trouble the big boys.
#3 Fred Klaassen
Fred Klaassen might have picked up only three wickets in the first round, but his performances were much better than that.
The left-armer was constantly landing the ball in the right areas and got it to move both ways in the powerplay. The fact that he conceded only 22 runs in six overs in the powerplay is proof of how tough he made it for the batsmen.
He has 100 T20 wickets to his name in 93 games and even earned a stint with the Manchester Originals in The Hundred.
He played a massive role in the Netherlands' win over UAE as he picked up the vital wicket of Muhammad Waseem.
The Dutch will pl India at Sydney and Pakistan at the Perth Stadium, and both are known to assist new-ball bowling. Apart from this, one can expect him to pick up some wickets against a fragile Bangladeshi batting unit.
#2 Blessing Muzarabani
Blessing has formed a formidable pace trio along with Tendai Chatara and Richard Ngarva, and all three are on a very similar level. The latter two have shown a little more consistency, but Muzarabani has more explosive potential and can rattle batting teams in favorable conditions.
He picked up six wickets in three games, including a 3-fer against Ireland. The 26-year-old also scalped the dangerous Michael Leask in their virtual knockout versus Scotland. He has racked up 55 wickets in 48 games in his career so far.
Zimbabwe have a game each at five venues, including the Gabba and Perth, where he could be quite lethal.
They are arguably the quickest wickets in the world, and since both those World Cup games are against Asian opposition in the form of Bangladesh and Pakistan, he could be in business on a good day.
#1 Josh Little
Josh Little has managed to carve out a pretty good reputation so far, and at the age of 22, has already become the leader of the Irish attack. He is good across all phases, but his ability to move the new ball stands out in particular, and it was on show against Zimbabwe.
The Irishman picked up four wickets in the first round of the World Cup. He has claimed 98 wickets in 79 T20s. He was fantastic for the Manchester Originals in the Hundred, and got 13 wickets in just five appearances.
His first game in the Super 12s of the World Cup will be against Sri Lanka, who he will have fond memories of playing against, as he managed figures of 4/23 in the last World Cup, in what was a dream new-ball spell.
He also has a game against the hosts at the Gabba. The youngster will also play a couple at the MCG, where he should fancy his chances with his hard lengths and the big boundaries.