ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announced
- Ireland play the Netherlands and Namibia face Sri Lanka in opening Group A fixtures of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021
- Short video interviews of team captains, graphics of schedules for each team available on theOnline Media Zonefor free editorial use
The Netherlands, winners of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019, will play Ireland in the opening Group A fixture of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on 18 October while Namibia face the challenge of taking on former champions Sri Lanka in their first outing the same day.
In other matches of the group to be played in Abu Dhabi on 20 October, Namibia take on the Netherlands and 2014 champions Sri Lanka play Ireland. The Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host the remaining two Round 1 matches of the group – Namibia versus Ireland and Sri Lanka versus the Netherlands – on 22 October.
Two teams from each group of Round 1 make it to the Super 12s, with Bangladesh, Oman, Papua New Guinea and Scotland forming Group B.
Abu Dhabi will be the venue of the first semi-final on 10 November while the other semi-final (11 November) and the final (14 November) will be played in Dubai. All day matches are scheduled for 14h00 local time and the day-night matches are slated for 18h00 local time (+4 GMT).
The captains of Ireland, Namibia and the Netherlands acknowledge playing Sri Lanka early in the group stages will be a challenge.
Netherlands captain Pieter Seelaar:“It’s going to be a very important World Cup for us and we are looking to be in good shape. The importance of the tournament for us mainly is that if we get in the first two spots, then we automatically qualify for the next World Cup.
“At a World Cup, it does not matter who you play and all games are going to be fantastic. But obviously, Ireland is one team we look forward to playing, because we faced them quite a bit last couple of years and we know them quite well.
“We played them at the Qualifiers in 2019, where we beat them and take confidence from that. Sri Lanka are not a team we have played in a while and we did not go too well in the past. That team is looking to rebuild with a lot of youngsters and with the second-ranked bowler Wanindu Hasaranga in the side.
“I think all three facets of our game are very strong. We are a pretty good fielding team, we are a dynamic unit with the bat - we have a couple of dangerous players and also some solid ones. With the ball, we have some match-winners as we saw in the Qualifiers.”
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus: “It’s a massive event for Cricket Namibia, the first major event we have qualified for in 18 years. It will be of big value to us, will put Cricket Namibia’s organisation on the map and give value to us as players.
“The players are looking for a massive event in their lives and which will hopefully propel their careers forward. The match we are looking forward to the most is our first match against Sri Lanka. They are past winners of the World Cup, so it should be a good one. We are all really excited for it right now, so imagine the night before!
“Our team strength over the last couple of years has been a good balance. We have got experienced heads and young guys with energy. We also have some dangerous batsmen and some good skill and smart bowlers. All in all, a tough team to beat.
“Our strength will lie in the balance of side and where everyone will chip in to provide a match-winning performance. We have the experience of JJ Smit and some newer faces in the team as well, so I am excited to see them do well.”
Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie said: “It is very exciting for the group to be playing in the World Cup, a lot of players who have not experienced that, I know that they are excited. Hopefully we can produce some pretty good cricket and first and foremost get out of our group.
“There is always going to be pressure. First time I will be leading at an ICC event, I am very excited, excited to see how the guys adapt. Once we are on the plane, it is going to sink in that we are going to do something very special.
“The Dutch game is a big one. They recently beat us in a 50-over series and they are a team we know pretty well. Of course, Sri Lanka are going to go in as favourites but we have to put in performances against all three teams and have to be at our best. In my opinion it is the tougher group but hopefully our guys can rise to the occasion. The Netherlands game is the one we will target as potentially the biggest game of the group.
“Our batting is probably our strength but we have to have an all-round game. Probably the spin will also come into play, so we have to get our balance right.”
West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard said his team, among eight to get direct entry into the Super 12 stage, was ready to go and try and retain the title.
“We are excited to begin defence of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title later this year. T20 cricket is dynamic and the international scene is highly competitive, with players constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation and we are expecting a spectacular event in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
“We have a particularly interesting Super 12 group, which sees us come up against Australia, England and South Africa. We can’t wait to get started! West Indian cricketers have always played an exciting brand of cricket and I am sure our fans in the Caribbean and all over the world are highly anticipating seeing us in action.”
The media release for the group announcements is available here.
The groupings: ****
Round 1
Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia
Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman
(Top two teams from each group advance to Super 12s)
Super 12s
Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1 and B2.
Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, A2 and B1.
(Top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals)
Complete schedule:
Round 1
17 Oct: Oman v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14h00); Bangladesh v Scotland, Muscat (18h00)
18 Oct: Ireland v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Sri Lanka v Namibia, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
19 Oct: Scotland v PNG, Muscat (14h00); Oman v Bangladesh, Muscat (18h00)
20 Oct: Namibia v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Sri Lanka v Ireland, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
21 Oct: Bangladesh v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14h00); Oman v Scotland, Muscat (18h00)
22 Oct: Namibia v Ireland, Sharjah (14h00); Sri Lanka v Netherlands, Sharjah (18h00)
Super 12s
23 Oct: Australia v South Africa, Abu Dhabi (14h00); England v West Indies, Dubai (18h00)
24 Oct: A1 v B2, Sharjah (14h00); India v Pakistan, Dubai (18h00)
25 Oct: Afghanistan v B1, Sharjah (18h00)
26 Oct: South Africa v West Indies, Dubai (14h00); Pakistan v New Zealand, Sharjah (18h00)
27 Oct: England v B2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); B1 v A2, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
28 Oct: Australia v A1, Dubai (18h00)
29 Oct: West Indies v B2, Sharjah (14h00); Pakistan v Afghanistan, Dubai (18h00)
30 Oct: South Africa v A1, Sharjah (14h00); Australia v England, Dubai (18h00)
31 Oct: Afghanistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); India v New Zealand, Dubai (18h00)
1 Nov: England v A1, Sharjah (18h00)
2 Nov: South Africa v B2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Pakistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
3 Nov: New Zealand v B1, Dubai (14h00); India v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
4 Nov: Australia v B2, Dubai (14h00); West indies v A1, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
5 Nov: New Zealand v A2, Sharjah (14h00); India v B1, Dubai (18h00)
6 Nov: Australia v West Indies, Abu Dhabi (14h00); England v South Africa, Sharjah (18h00)
7 Nov: New Zealand v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (14h00): Pakistan v B1, Sharjah (18h00)
8 Nov: India v A2, Dubai (18h00)
Knock-out stage
10 Nov: Semi-final 1 (A1 v B2), Abu Dhabi (18h00)
11 Nov: Semi-final 2 (B1 v A2), Dubai (18h00)
14 Nov: Final, Dubai (18h00)
About the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021
- The seventh edition of the tournament comprises 16 teams and is being hosted by India in the United Arab Emirates and Oman
- The tournament is being played at four venues – Dubai International Stadium, Oman Cricket Academy (Muscat), Sharjah Cricket Stadium and Zayed Cricket Stadium (Abu Dhabi)
- Hosts India and nine other top teams in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings as of 31 December 2018 got direct entries
- The top eight were placed directly in the Super 12s and the next two – Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - joined six other teams coming through a Qualifier event in the group stage
- Two teams each from the group stage, consisting of four teams each, will join the eight direct entrants to complete the Super 12s line-up.
- If Sri Lanka and Bangladesh qualify from the first round, they will retain the seedings of A1 and B1 respectively for the Super 12s
- The top two teams from each group of the Super 12s will make the knockouts, the matchups being - A1 v B2 and B2 v A1