Mitchell Starc slams Australia being pre-seeded B2 as side faces India in Super Eight: 'Question needs to be asked'
Australia have been pre-seeded as B2 in the T20 World Cup's Super Eight stage despite topping the group. This did not go down well with Mitchell Starc.
The Super Eight lineup is almost set at the T20 World Cup as the teams prepare for the second round of the tournament. Australia topped Group B in the tournament, enjoying an unbeaten run with four wins out of four. However, despite being the top-placed side, Australia have been pre-seeded as ‘B2’ in the competition, and the side's star pacer Mitchell Starc isn't too pleased.
The situation highlighted a flaw in the tournament's structure, where teams' Super Eight opponents are predetermined by seedings rather than their first-round finishing positions. As a result, despite winning all four group games, Australia will advance as 'B2'.
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This predetermined seeding system means that, depending on the outcome of Afghanistan's game against the West Indies on Monday night, three group winners could end up in the same Super Eight pool, with the other being India.
This arrangement raises concerns about fairness and balance in the competition's later stages, as strong teams could be clustered together, making the path to the finals uneven.
“I think there's a question to be asked about pre-seeding. I'm not sure I'm a fan of that,” Starc said in a press conference following Australia's win against Scotland in their final group match.
Team India finished at the top of Group A, and had there been no pre-seeding, the side would've faced England in the Super Eight stage, who finished second in Group B. However, with the Aussies being already labelled ‘B2’, India will meet Mitchell Marsh's men in a blockbuster Super Eight clash.
Australia's run in T20 WC so far
The side made a bright start in its chase to become the first team to hold all major ICC titles at once, defeating Oman by 39 runs before defeating arch-rivals England by 36 runs in a strong performance. The side, steamrolled Namibia, chasing a 73-run target in just 5.4 overs to seal a Super Eight berth. In their final match, Australia endured a poor fielding effort as they conceded 180/5 in 20 overs but chased the target down with two balls to spare.
