Hayley Matthews and the West Indies women will open the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in October against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates. The groups and fixtures for this year’s tournament were revealed this week by the world governing body.
After the highly-anticipated ninth edition of the tournament was moved from Bangladesh to the UAE, ICC have revealed the revamped fixtures for the event set to be played in Dubai and Sharjah.
The groups remain the same with six-time champion Australia drawn alongside 2020 runners-up India, Trans-Tasman rival New Zealand, Asian sides Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Group A of the event.
2016 champions West Indies are placed alongside South Africa, England, Bangladesh, and Scotland in Group B.
West Indies meet South Africa on October 4 in Dubai from 2:00 pm. They then play Scotland on October 6 at the same venue from 6:00 pm. On October 10, they play their first match in Sharjah, against Bangladesh from 6:00 pm. Their final group match will be on October 15, versus England in Dubai starting at 6:00 pm.
Sri Lanka and Scotland qualified for the tournament via the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament held in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.
Each side will play four group matches at the tournament, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the semi-finals on October 17 and 18 ahead of the Final in Dubai on October 20. A reserve day has been fixed for both the semifinals and the final.
In total, there will be 23 matches played across two venues in Dubai and Sharjah.
There will also be 10 warm-up matches held prior to the tournament from September 28 through to October 1.
West Indies will play India on September 29 in Dubai, and defending champions Australia on October 1, ahead of the tournament.
Group A: Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Group B: South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Scotland
