Australia pursue more T20 glory, with challenges ahead

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Australia pursue more T20 glory, with challenges ahead

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR WOMEN’S TWENTY20 WORLD CUP

WHEN IS IT? Australia play their first game against Sri Lanka in Sharjah on Saturday night (7pm AEST). The rest of Australia’s group games in the UAE will be in the middle of the night, with the schedule friendly to TV audiences in the subcontinent.

WHAT IS THE FORMAT? This is much more straight-forward than the men’s tournament earlier this year. Australia play each of the rivals in their pool – Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and New Zealand – once. The top two teams progress to the semi-finals.

WHAT ARE AUSTRALIA’S CHANCES OF WINNING? Australia enter as the clear favourites, having won the past three T20 World Cups in 2018, 2020 and 2023, along with the Commonwealth Games in 2022. But this is Twenty20 cricket, and upsets happen.

WHO ARE AUSTRALIA’S MAJOR CHALLENGERS? India are a growing threat to Australia’s dominance, having stolen a T20 off Australia during a tour of India last year. Sri Lanka are the other big threats in the group, if 2023 WBBL MVP Chamari Athapaththu fires. In the other group, England beat Australia 2-1 in the T20 component of last year’s multi-format series.

WILL THE UAE WICKETS CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR AUSTRALIA? *********** men’s teams don’t historically fare well in spinning conditions, but this is less of a problem for the women. Australia have Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham and Alana King in their squad, who are among the best spinners in the world. For the batters, the UAE wickets should be a little easier than the ones in Bangladesh, where the tournament was meant to be played before political unrest forced a move.

WHERE ARE AUSTRALIA AT IN THEIR DYNASTY? Alyssa Healy’s team are gunning for a fourth straight title and their seventh overall, but the side is changing. Meg Lanning’s retirement means this is Healy’s first World Cup in charge, while seven players from the 2018 squad that won the first on this run will not be playing in the UAE.

HOW CAN I WATCH? This will be the first women’s World Cup shown in Australia on streaming only. All matches will be on

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Prime, ending a long run of World Cups shown on Nine and Foxtel.

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