Melbourne: Melbourne Cricket Ground will host the final of both the men’s and women’s World Twenty20 when the tournaments come to Australia in 2020, organisers announced Tuesday.
The women’s tournament, made up of 10 teams, will be held from February 21-March 8 before 16 men’s teams play from October 18-November 15. It will mark the first time the tournaments are held as standalone events in the same year in the same country.
The women’s final will coincide with International Women’s Day, with the world governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), hoping for a record attendance at a women’s sporting event.
The largest crowd to attend a women’s sporting event was 90,185 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the 1999 Women’s World Cup soccer final between the United States and China.
“It’s very exciting to think about and to potentially play in front of over 90,000 people,” Australia women’s captain Meg Lanning told reporters.
The ICC and Cricket Australia unveiled the venues for both tournaments Tuesday, with women’s pool matches to be played at several smaller venues in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra. Both the women’s semifinals will be at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Hobart and Geelong will host six pool stage matches in the men’s tournament before the country’s six main cricket venues, including the new Perth Stadium, host matches. The men’s semifinals will be in Sydney and Adelaide before the final in Melbourne.
reuters
