Australia will begin men's T20 World Cup defence against New Zealand
Australia will start the defence of their Men's T20 World Cup title against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand at the SCG in a rematch of last year's final, while India and Pakistan will face each other at the MCG in their opening fixtures.
Those were among the standout contests in the fixtures' list for the 2022 T20 World Cup, which was announced on Friday. The tournament begins on October 16, with Sri Lanka facing Namibia in Geelong in the first round before the Super 12s start on October 22 in Sydney. While Australia vs New Zealand is the opening game of the round, the India-Pakistan fixture will take place on October 23.
On three days, during the Super 12s, there will be three games taking place. These are all Group 2 games, which has Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and two teams coming through from the first round of matches. The days in question are October 27, when two matches will be played in Sydney and one in Perth, then October 30, when two matches are scheduled to be held in Perth and one in Brisbane, and finally November 6, when Adelaide will host two matches and Melbourne one.
The two semi-finals will be held in Sydney (November 9) and Adelaide (November 10) before the final at the MCG on November 13.
In Group one of the Super 12s, Australia are alongside New Zealand, England, Afghanistan plus the winner of the Group A qualifiers and the runner-up in Group B.
Australia T20 captain Aaron Finch said knowing the groups so far out does help with planning, but it doesn't make it any easier as Australia looks to defend their title on home soil.
"Our planning was ultra-detailed last time," Finch said at the MCG on Friday. "Knowing what the groups look like eight, nine months out is really helpful because it can help your level of detail in that planning phase. It's a tough group though. They're both tough, and when you throw in qualifiers like West Indies, Sri Lanka, you've got to play really well to get out of the group stage."
Two global qualifiers will determine the final teams that will head to Australia. Matches will be played in Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Australia won the title for the first time last November when they beat New Zealand by eight wickets in Dubai. Mitchell Marsh was Player of the Match for his unbeaten 77 off 50 balls.