Australia’s only official T20 World Cup warm-up match against Netherlands was abandoned without a ball bowled
Australia’s final match hit-out before their T20 World Cup opener has been scuppered by Colombo’s unseasonally damp start to February with their warm-up clash with the Netherlands abandoned without a ball bowled.
While rain eased in Sri Lanka’s largest city late Thursday afternoon to allow a delayed toss to take place – that Mitch Marsh won and uncharacteristically chose to bat – a torrential downpour hit shortly after, with parts of the Premadasa Stadium outfield underwater when the match was called off at 5.50pm local time.
It’s the second warm-up fixture abandoned in as many days in Colombo after there was also no play was possible between Pakistan and Ireland at the SSC Ground on Wednesday.
December to February is traditionally the dry season on the island’s west coast but rain has been persistent over the past week, hampering the final World Cup preparations for the handful of teams set to begin their campaigns in Sri Lanka.
That includes Australia and their four Group B opponents, who will play all their round-robin matches during the tournament’s opening stage in Sri Lanka, as well as Pakistan and the Dutch, who are set to launch the 2026 T20 showpiece when they face off on Saturday morning.
Zimbabwe and Oman, two of Australia’s Group B opponents, were able to complete their practice match earlier in the day before the rain set in, while Zimbabwe beat Netherlands and Oman accounted for Sri Lanka A in their first warm-up matches earlier in the week.
The washout leaves the Aussies without an official warm-up match prior to the tournament, though the team’s hierarchy will be banking on the abundance of T20 cricket their players are coming off in the Big Bash to have them well-prepped for their opening match against Ireland on Wednesday.
The majority of Australia’s World Cup squad also toured Pakistan last week for three T20 internationals where, despite being comprehensively beaten 3-0, they were exposed to spinning conditions like those they expect to encounter in their four group stage games in Sri Lanka.
Three of Australia’s first choice players (Adam Zampa, Tim David and Nathan Ellis) were set to sit out the warm-up clash anyway, with David and Ellis having missed the Pakistan series as they returned from hamstring injuries suffered during Hobart Hurricanes’ KFC BBL|15 season.
But the match loomed as a return to national colours for allrounder Glenn Maxwell following a lean BBL campaign for Melbourne Stars after he too skipped the whirlwind Pakistan tour, while it was also a chance for left-arm spinners Matthew Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly to push their case for a role alongside Zampa in Australia’s starting XI for the World Cup.
Fast bowlers Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis could have also used the warm-up fixture as an audition for major World Cup roles, especially with star paceman Josh Hazlewood remaining at home for the start of the campaign as he completes his recovery from an Achillies injury.
The 2021 champions have scheduled an optional training session for Friday afternoon in the wake of the washout, with main sessions also scheduled for Sunday and Monday as a final tune up ahead of their tournament opener at the Premadasa Stadium on February 11 (8.30pm AEDT).
Australia will play their first two Group B games in Colombo (Ireland followed by Zimbabwe on February 13) before shifting to Kandy where they’ll face co-hosts Sri Lanka (12.30am AEDT February 17) and Oman (12.30am AEDT February 21).
2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Australia squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserve: Sean Abbott
Australia’s Group Stage fixtures
February 11: v Ireland, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (8:30pm AEDT)
February 13: v Zimbabwe, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (4:30pm AEDT)
February 16: v Sri Lanka, Pallekele International Stadium, Kandy (Feb 17, 12:30am AEDT)
February 20: v Oman, Pallekele International Stadium, Kandy (Feb 21, 12:30am AEDT)
Australia’s Super Eight fixtures
(Assuming all seeded teams qualify)
February 23: Australia (X2) v West Indies (X3), Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (Feb 24, 12:30am AEDT)
February 26: India (X1) v Australia (X2), MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai (Feb 27, 12:30am AEDT)
March 1: Australia (X2) v South Africa (X4), Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, 8:30pm AEDT
Click here for the full tournament schedule
All matches will be broadcast on Amazon’s Prime Video
