The schedule for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 was announced on Friday. The Men in Blue will face Pakistan in their first game of the tournament on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be held in Australia between October 16 and November 13 and will be played at seven venues: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Geelong, Hobart and Perth.
A total of 45 matches will be played in Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, ensuring the same national footprint as the postponed 2020 event.
In the first round, the 2014 champions of Sri Lanka and Namibia will play the opening game of the Men’s ICC T20 World Cup 2022 on Sunday, October 16 at Kardinia Park, Geelong. They will be joined by two qualifiers in Group A. Two-time champions of the West Indies will also start in the first round, along with Scotland in Group B, and two qualifiers in Hobart.
In the Super 12, host nation Australia is in Group 1 with the world’s number one England, New Zealand, Afghanistan plus the winner of Group A and second in Group B from the first round. Group 2 includes India, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, plus the Group B winner and second in Group A from the first round.
Host and defending champions, Australia will face New Zealand in the opening match of the Super 12 at the SCG on Saturday, October 22 in a rematch of the 2021 ICC T20 Men’s World Cup Final. The Black Caps will also face England at The Gabba on November 1 in a rematch of their epic semi-final encounter at the 2021 event.
Two of world cricket’s biggest rivals will face off in the MCG, with India taking on Pakistan on Sunday, October 23. It will be the first World Cup clash between the two countries in the MCG and will come before two more fierce rivals, Australia and England, meet at the same venue on Friday, October 28.
The state-of-the-art Perth Stadium will host a massive double-header on Sunday, October 30, with South Africa taking on India in the evening game. Earlier in the day, Pakistan will play against the number two from Group A.
The seven venues to host matches are Adelaide Oval, The Gabba, Kardinia Park Stadium, Bellerive Oval, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Perth Stadium and Sydney Cricket Ground.
The semi-finals will be played at the SCG and Adelaide Oval on November 9 and 10 respectively. The final will be played under lights at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 13.
Defending champions Australia and runner-up New Zealand plus England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh as the next highest-ranked teams have been granted direct entry into the Super 12 stage of the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Sri Lanka, West Indies, Scotland and Namibia have qualified but will start the event in the first round. The four remaining places in Australia 2022 will be filled through the ongoing qualifying journey, culminating in two global qualifying tournaments in early 2022.
International Cricket Council CEO Geoff Allardice said in an official release: “T20 is the global growth format for cricket and the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 will play a huge role in inspiring our next generation of players and fans as the world’s best players descend on Australia and showcasing the very best of our sport. Releasing match schedules is always a great moment in the delivery of a World Cup as fans begin to get excited about opening matches, face-to-face and knockout stages.”
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“This schedule offers so much, from the 2014 Champions Sri Lanka opening the event, to our defending champions Australia, starting with a rematch of the 2021 T20 Men’s World Cup Final against New Zealand and of course India v Pakistan in the MCG. We know that that hundreds of thousands of passionate cricket fans will support each of the 16 teams in all our seven host cities, making it so special for the players.You only need to think back to the brilliant 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia to know that this is a going to be a great event for players and fans alike,” he added.
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