2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Trivia Quiz

Answer: Seeded and progressed

Qualification for the ICC T20 World Cup was a multi-stage process, as will be described in subsequent questions, as relevant. The first step, however, is automatic - host nations automatically qualify. The West Indies, who would not have qualified based on their results in the previous World Cup, would have qualified based on their team ranking in November 2022; that mode of qualifying was made available to another team. West Indies were placed in Group C.

In the first group stage, West Indies won all four of their matches, beating Papua New Guinea by 5 wickets, Uganda by 134 runs, New Zealand by 13 runs and Afghanistan by 144 runs. They advanced to the Super 8 stage top of their group, with a net run rate of 3.257.

In the Super 8 stage, West Indies were placed in Group 2. They won their match against the United States, but lost to both England and South Africa, so did not proceed to the elimination stage (semi-finals and final).

Answer: Unseeded and progressed

The USA qualified as a host nation, avoiding the need to go through a qualifying tournament to get there, and were placed in Group A. This World Cup saw 16 of its 59 matches played on the US mainland: 4 at Central Broward Park in Florida, 4 at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, and 8 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, a temporary facility erected in a park on New York's Long Island. Groups A and D were the only ones to play at these venues during the first group round.

The United States and Canada both made their World Cup debut when they played at the Texas ground. The USA won by 7 wickets. Their match at the same venue against Pakistan was more dramatic and surprising - after the game was tied, the teams played a Super Over, which the US won, 18/1 vs. 13/1. More expectedly, they lost to India in the match played on Long Island, and then qualified for the Super 8 when the match against Ireland was abandoned.

In the Super 8 stage, the United States was placed in Group 2. They lost all three of their matches, and were eliminated.

Answer: Seeded and progressed

Australia, who had hosted the 2022 World Cup, qualified for this one on the basis of their performance there (although they did not win and defend their title from 2020) and were placed in Group B. All group matches for this group were played in the Caribbean.

Australia qualified for the Super 8 by winning all four of their matches: they beat England by 36 runs, Namibia by 9 wickets, Oman by 39 runs and Scotland by 5 wickets. When that final match was played, Australia had qualified, but the second qualifier from Group D was still up in the air: had Scotland won, they would have qualified; since they lost, England went through with a higher net run rate.

In the Super 8 stage, Australia were placed in Group 1. They defeated Bangladesh, but lost to both Afghanistan and India, leaving them in third place, and eliminated.

Answer: Seeded and progressed

England qualified for the 2024 T20 World Cup on the basis of their success in the previous version, and were placed in Group B, where (as the current #4 team) they were seeded along with Australia (current #2 team). While both seeded teams progressed from this group, it was far from a sure thing, as the abandonment of the match between Scotland and England meant both of those teams ended up with 2 wins, and progression was determined by net run rate. England lost to Australia, but had big wins over Oman and Namibia, giving them a net run rate of 3.611, the highest in the group. Because positions in the Super 8 had been predetermined, and did not rest on which of the two who progressed finished first or second, both Australia and England took their expected spots in the second stage of the tournament.

In the Super 8 stage, England was in Group 2. They defeated both of the host nations (USA and West Indies), but lost to India, leaving them in second place. They progressed to the elimination phase, where they faced India in the second semi-final. That was to be the end of the tournament for the defending champions, as they were all out for 103, chasing a target of 171.

Answer: Seeded and progressed

India, at the time ranked #1 in international T20 cricket, qualified as one of the top eight teams from the 2022 World cup, and were placed in Group A. All matches for this group were played in the United States, not in the Caribbean.

India had one washout, their final game against Canada in Florida. They won their other three matches, all played on Long Island: their first match against Ireland saw them gain victory by 8 wickets; they defeated Pakistan (the other seeded team in the group) by 6 runs and the USA by 7 wickets. Their three victories saw them through to the Super 8 round.

In the Super 8 round India was in Group 1. Victories over Afghanistan, Australia and Bangladesh saw them qualify in first place, and proceed to face England in the second semi-final match, where they had yet another victory, and moved on to face South Africa in the final match.

India won the final, by 7 runs, and gained their second T20 title, befitting for the nation currently ranked as the best T20 team in the world. Virat Kohli was player of the match, and Jasprit Bumrah was awarded Player of the Tournament for his consistently impressive bowling.

Answer: Unseeded and eliminated

The Netherlands are not a nation you might immediately identify as a cricket-playing nation (most of them being in the British Isles or current or former members of the British Commonwealth), but they entered this tournament ranked #15 out of the 89 nations with an ICC ranking at the time. They qualified for this cup on the basis of their success in 2022, and were placed in Group D. This meant they played some games in the Caribbean, and some in the USA.

The first match, played in Dallas against Nepal, gained them a victory by 6 wickets. The second match, on Long Island, saw them go down to South Africa by 4 wickets. They then moved to the Caribbean, where Bangladesh defeated them by 25 runs in Jamaica, and Sri Lanka won by 83 runs in St Lucia. With only one victory, they ended the tournament in fourth place in Group D.

Answer: Seeded and eliminated

New Zealand qualified because they were one of the top eight teams in the 2022 World Cup, and were placed in Group C as one of the two seeds in that group.

New Zealand lost their first match by 84 runs, to Afghanistan (who were going to proceed to produce some more upsets during the tournament) and their second match to the West Indies by 13 runs. Victories over Uganda by 9 wickets and Papua New Guinea by 7 wickets were not sufficient to gain them a spot in the Super Eight, and they were eliminated.

Answer: Seeded and eliminated

Pakistan, who entered the tournament ranked #7, qualified because they were one of the top eight teams in the 2022 tournament, and were placed in Group A, where they were seeded along with their arch-rivals, India.

Pakistan's first match was against the United States. It ended in a tie, with each team scoring 159 runs in their 20 overs. This meant a Super Over was required, in which each team faces another 6 deliveries. The USA lost one wicket and scored 18 runs in their over; Pakistan also lost one wicket, but only scored 13 runs, so they lost the match. This was a stunning upset for the home team. When Pakistan then lost to India by 6 runs, their fate was sealed, and victories over Canada and Ireland were not enough to get them into the top 2. They finished in third place in the group, and were eliminated.

Answer: Seeded and progressed

South Africa are another team who qualified for this World cup because they had performed well in 2022, and were placed in Group D, seeded at the top of that group. They duly won all four of their matches, finishing on top of the group, and proceeded to the Super 8 stage. It was not all as simple as that sounds - the win over Nepal was by a single run, 115/7 over 114/7, and the margin against Bangladesh was only 4 runs. Either of those matches could have turned into a loss until the very last ball had been delivered.

In the Super 8 round, South Africa won all three matches (against England, West Indies and USA), finishing on top of Group 2 and advancing to face Afghanistan in the first semi-final. This match saw them ease their way to victory, only requiring 8.5 overs to overtake Afghanistan's score of 56, and the Proteas advanced to their first T20 World Cup final, from their eighth semi-final. In the final, they batted second, chasing a target of 176 set by India, and fell 7 runs short in a tense finish - 16 runs off the last over was possible, but didn't happen.

Answer: Seeded and eliminated

The final team that qualified for the 2024 T20 World Cup on the basis of their performance in 2022 was Sri Lanka, who were placed in Group D. They were seeded second to South Africa on the basis of their rankings at the time the tournament was set up, so it was no surprise when South Africa won their encounter by 6 wickets.

Bangladesh's victory over Sri Lanka by 2 wickets was their first international T20 victory over Sri Lanka. Two losses from two matches is a precarious position in these group rounds, and a washout against Nepal meant that their final victory (over Netherlands) was not enough to get them through, and Sri Lanka were eliminated, finishing in third place in the group. Bangladesh took the spot allocated to the second Group D team in the Super 8.

Answer: Unseeded and progressed

After the first ten spots in the T20 World cup had been allocated to the host nations and the top eight teams in the previous tournament, the next two spots were given to the two teams (who had not already qualified) with the highest positions on the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings in November 2023.

First of these was Afghanistan, who were allocated to Group C and proved to be quite a surprise package. Actually, devotees of the T20 format were familiar with many of the Afghan players, as they have been competing around the world in the many domestic T20 leagues, but the team as a whole had not played many matches together. Thye arrived in the Carribean full of enthusiasm, and played with gusto, producing some memorable matches.

Afghanistan opened their tournament with a 125-run victory over Uganda. They followed this with their first-ever win against New Zealand in an international T20, defeating the top seed in their group by 84 runs. Victory over Papua New Guinea was enough to secure their spot in the Super 8, despite losing to the West Indies in the final group match. They took the Group 1 spot that had been allocated to Group C on the basis of New Zealand's ranking.

In the Super 8 round Afghanistan won their matches against Australia and Bangladesh, but lost to India. They finished second in the group, and proceeded to face South Africa in the second semi-final. This was a crushing defeat, with the Proteas needing fewer than half their overs to overtake Afghanistan's score of 56 runs.

Answer: Unseeded and progressed

Bangladesh were the second team to qualify on the basis of their T20I ranking, and were allocated to Group D.

Their first group match, against Sri Lanka in Dallas, was to prove decisive. They won by 2 wickets, dealing Sri Lanka a surprise loss. A loss to South Africa was more expected, before they moved to play in the Caribbean and beat Netherlands by 25 runs, then Nepal by 21 runs. This left them in second spot for the group, and they took Sri Lanka's spot in the Super 8.

In the Super 8 Bangladesh lost all three of their matches, finishing on the bottom of the table for Group 1.

Answer: Unseeded and eliminated

The final eight spots in the 2024 T20 World Cup were filled by teams who came through regional qualifying tournaments. I won't even try to explain the structure of this tournament - it makes the final one look remarkably simple and straightforward, as there were five different ways in which the 32 competing teams could qualify to be one of the seven teams to play in the final stage of the qualifier. Scotland ended up on top, and were placed in Group B.

The teams that make it to the World Cup through the qualifying tournaments are often considered to be cannon fodder - just there to generate enough matches to keep things ticking over, and helping the 'real' teams keep in touch. That was not the case for Scotland in 2024 - although they were eliminated, they came very close to making it into the super 8. Had they beaten Australia in their final match, they would have displaced England from the second spot in their group. Unfortunately for them, they did not quite manage a win - but it was more exciting that the official result (Australia by 5 wickets) sounds. They scored 180 runs in their 20 overs, and Australia managed to get past them on the second-last ball of the match. But they did lose, and were eliminated.

Answer: Unseeded and eliminated

Ireland qualified as one of the top two teams in the European Qualifier, coming second to Scotland, and were placed in Group A.

Ireland's washout in their penultimate match, against the United States, meant that it was the USA, appearing in their first T20 World cup, who proceeded to the Super 8 along with the undefeated Indian team. Their upset victory over Pakistan in the final group match gave them one win, leaving them on the bottom of the table, with a worse net run rate than Canada, the other team in Group A with a single win.

Answer: Unseeded and eliminated

Papua New Guinea qualified as winner of the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier, winning all six of their matches in that tournament. They were placed in Group C.

The PNG Barramundis were less successful in the actual World Cup, losing all four of their matches. They finished last in the group, although their net run rate was significantly better than that of Uganda, who had managed one victory - over PNG. Although they had no wins, all four matches were reasonably competitive.

Answer: Unseeded and eliminated

Canada qualified by winning the Americas Qualifier. This involved a preliminary qualifying stage for Central and South American countries, for whom three of the eight progressed to another round which included Canada (who got there automatically from their 2022 results). The regional final saw both Canada and Bermuda gain four wins from six matches; Canada qualified on the basis of a superior net run rate. The North American Qualifier was allocated a spot in Group A, the one which played all of its matches in the USA.

Canada and the USA played the first match of the World cup in Dallas on 1 June, and the USA won by 7 wickets, with a bit more than 2 overs to spare. Both teams were making their first T20 World Cup appearance, and it was the first T20 match played on the ground. Canada then beat Ireland, lost to Pakistan, and had a washout against India, leaving them in fourth position in the group.

Answer: Unseeded and eliminated

Nepal qualified as through the Asia Qualifier, a tournament held among fifteen countries from Asian regions that were not part of the East Asia-Pacific tournament. (Don't ask me how they decided which Asian countries went where - there were a few allocations that looked strange to the uneducated eye.) After nine countries had worked out which two of them would make the final round against the six countries who were sent straight through on the basis of past performances, making two groups of four who played round robin to determine the final four, which then became a knockout. In the final of the qualifying tournament, Oman beat Nepal in a Super Over. Since Nepal qualified in second place, they took their spot in Group D.

Nepal lost their first match against the Netherlands. Their second match, against Sri Lanka, was rained out - and that result guaranteed South Africa a place in the Super 8 stage. The match between Nepal and South Africa was a thriller, with South Africa setting a target of 115 runs, and Nepal managing 114 runs in their 20 overs. This result guaranteed that Nepal would be eliminated, so their final match loss to Bangladesh did not affect their final position; it did, however, make sure that Bangladesh progressed, and Netherlands were eliminated.

Answer: Unseeded and eliminated

By virtue of winning the Asia Qualifier, Oman secured a spot in Group B. The qualifying tournament final was dramatic - each team scored 184 runs in their 20 overs, with Bahrain having lost 9 wickets and Nepal only 6. This meant a Super Over was required; Nepal lost a wicket and scored 10 runs, while Oman scored 21 runs without losing a wicket.

Oman started their T20 World cup campaign against Namibia, playing yet another Super Over. This time, however, they lost (managing 10/1 while Namibia scored 21/0). They proceeded to lose the other three matches, finishing up at the bottom of their group.

Answer: Unseeded and eliminated

The final two teams to qualify for the Men's T20 World Cup in 2024 got there through the Africa Qualifier. Twelve countries competed in a preliminary round, from which four countries proceeded to the regional final, joining the three teams who had been placed there based on previous competitions. Namibia was one of those three, because they had participated in the 2022 World Cup. They justified this by winning all six of their matches and finishing on top of the table, giving them a spot in Group B.

Answer: Unseeded and eliminated

Like Namibia, Uganda qualified via the African Qualifier, finishing in second place (with their single loss being against Namibia) and gaining a spot in Group C. This was the first T20 World cup for which they qualified, having been eliminated during the qualifiers for previous tournaments.

Uganda's first match was a decisive loss to Afghanistan, but their second match saw them gain a win over Papua New Guinea. That was to be their only victory, and it was followed by a crushing defeat (all out for 39 runs in 12 overs) at the hands of the West Indies. New Zealand got the Ugandan team out for 40 runs, and only required 32 balls to gain the win. They finished in 16th place out of the 20 teams that competed.