Lofty goals set for Aussies, T20 WC final

Australia will have to get through rivals India and New Zealand to defend their T20 World Cup title on home soil and continue their incredible dominance of the tournament, with the ICC today revealing the groups for the 2020 event.

Having taken home the silverware on four occasions in six attempts, Australia will host the tournament for the first time next summer with matches in Sydney, Perth, Canberra and Melbourne in February and March 2020.

VIEW THE FULL 2020 T20 WORLD CUP FIXTURE HERE

The International Cricket Council and Cricket Australia are boldly targeting a new world record for the highest-attended women's sporting event at the final, to be held at the MCG on March 8 at the back-end of the Australian cricket season.

It's the first time the ICC will have staged the men's and women's T20 World Cups (formerly known as the World T20) separately in the same country in the same year, with the men's event to be played in October-November at the beginning of the 2020-21 summer.

Australia's women are still fresh off reclaiming their T20 title in the Caribbean in November, defeating England in the final having lost to West Indies in India in 2016.

The Aussies will kick off the 2020 tournament at Western Sydney's Showgrounds against India on February 21, before matches against Sri Lanka at Perth's WACA Ground and the White Ferns at the Junction Oval. They’ll also play a yet-to-be-determined qualifying team at Manuka Oval. 

The two semi-finals will held back-to-back at the SCG on March 5 ahead of the final at the MCG three days later on International Women's Day.

Officials are ambitious of drawing a crowd of more than 90,000 and potentially filling out the 100,000-capacity MCG for the decider.

The record for a women's sporting event is 90,185 that attended the 1999 women's football World Cup final, a scoreless draw between the USA and China at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The USA won on penalties.

The profile of women's cricket was grown dramatically in recent years in Australia with the success of the national team and the increasing popularity of the domestic Women's Big Bash League.

The recent Rebel WBBL final, the first one held separately to the men's final, between the Sydney Sixers and the Brisbane Heat at Drummoyne Oval on Saturday morning drew a crowd of more than 5,000.

"Only 85,000 more to go," Sixers and Australia wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy laughed after the WBBL final.

"But I think this standalone finals was the first step in making that happen and to see the people of Sydney turned up at an odd time of the day on a Saturday to support us is really good and hopefully come International Women’s Day next year the MCG is just as full.

"(We'll) have to wait and see what happens but no pressure on the Australians at all."

England, West Indies, South Africa and Pakistan, plus another qualifier, make up the other group of the 2020 T20 World Cup. 

Every match, including the final, of the women’s event will have tickets available for $20, while kids tickets will be $5.

Sign up at T20worldcup.com for more information including how to access priority tickets before they go on sale to the public on February 21.

Australia women’s 2020 T20 World Cup schedule:

February 21 – v India, Sydney Showgrounds

February 24 – v Sri Lanka,WACA Ground

February 27 – v Qualifier, Manuka Oval

March 2 – v New Zealand, Junction Oval

Finals

March 5 – First semi final, SCG

March 5 – Second semi final, SCG

March 8 – Final, MCG

VIEW THE FULL 2020 T20 WORLD CUP FIXTURE HERE