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The Australian men’s team will aim to emulate their female counterparts and defend the T20 World Cup at a packed MCG next November.
Barely a day removed from Australia’s men defeating New Zealand to be crowned T20 world champions for the first time in Dubai, the countdown is on for the 2022 tournament down under.
Next year’s edition is scheduled to begin on October 13 with the final pencilled in at Melbourne’s most iconic sporting venue on November 16.
A total of 45 matches will take place at Adelaide Oval, the Gabba, Kardinia Park (Geelong), Bellerive Oval, Perth Stadium, the MCG and the SCG.
The SCG will host the first semi-final on November 9 with the second at Adelaide Oval on the 10th.
Australia was meant to host the men’s tournament for the first time in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic put paid to that.
However, the women’s T20 World Cup went ahead at the start of that year with the hosts famously beating India before a crowd of 86,174.
As the reigning champions, Australia have automatically qualified for the Super 12 stage of the 2022 World Cup. So too runners-up New Zealand as well as England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh – the next six highest-ranked teams.
Sri Lanka, West Indies, Scotland and Namibia, who all featured in the recent Super 12s stage, have been locked in to compete in the first round. Four more teams will be decided through qualifier events.
“We congratulate Aaron Finch and the entire Australian squad on their maiden ICC Men’s T20 World Cup crown,” ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Local Organising Committee CEO Michelle Enright said on Tuesday.
“What an amazing platform it will be to see them try to defend their title in front of Aussie fans in 2022.
“In exactly eleven months from today, Australia will host the next edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, bringing the world’s best and most dynamic players to our shores for an unmissable event in October and November next year.
“With the unprecedented disruptions over the past two years, bringing the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to Australia for the first time offers a perfect opportunity for fans across the whole country to experience the joy of a live global sporting event again.
“World Cups unite people with the common thread of a love for cricket. We can’t wait to welcome fans of all ages and backgrounds to the world class venues across the seven Australian host cities to support their teams.
“The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020 produced some incredible moments and created memories that will live with Australian cricket fans forever.
“Now it’s time for the men’s event to take centre stage and claim its own place in history.”
The full schedule of fixtures will be announced in January.