All you need to know for the T20 World Cup

When does it start?

Soon! The opening match of the tournament is on Sunday night, October 17, at 9pm AEDT, the first of 45 games that will be played over 29 days. The tournament will be played in two stages (more on that later), with the second stage to start on October 23 when Australia play South Africa.

Where is it being played?

The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in India but was shifted to the Middle East due to concerns about COVID-19. Four venues will be used across two countries; the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman as well as grounds in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the UAE.

The three UAE venues have recently hosted 30 matches in less than four weeks for the second half of the Indian Premier League, meaning the state of the pitches at these grounds will be a major talking point throughout the tournament.

What's the time difference like?

It's not amazing for Australian audiences, but not too bad either. Matches start at either 2pm or 6pm local time, which is 9pm or 1am AEDT in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. The good news is three of Australia's five group games are 9pm AEDT starts, which is a handy 6pm for Western Australia viewers.

How can I watch?

Foxtel or Kayo Sports are the only places to watch this year's T20 World Cup, making it the first cricket World Cup event that will have no free-to-air broadcast since 2010.

Foxtel and Kayo will broadcast every one of the tournament's 45 matches exclusively in Australia, as well as six of the eight official warm-up games for the Super 12 sides early next week.

The 12 matches in Round 1 from October 17-22 will also be available for free via Kayo Freebies.

In addition, Kayo Sports will upload 30-minute highlights packages (called 'Minis') of every game, which is a handy on-demand option given the time zone is not overly friendly for Australian audiences.

You can sign-up for Kayo here, starting with a 14-day free trial.

The Nine Network has had a long-standing arrangement with Foxtel – who sublease broadcast rights to ICC events off India's Star Sports – that allows them to show Australia's World Cup matches.

But amid the changes to the ICC schedule – this tournament changed to a T20 World Cup from a Champions Trophy event in 2018, and was rescheduled from India – it is not part of Nine's deal.

Australia's anti-siphoning list – designed to ensure events of significant cultural interest are broadcast on free-to-air – does include the T20 World Cup, but only matches played in Australia and New Zealand.

How many countries are taking part?

A total of 16 teams are in the tournament, 12 of which will be part of the second stage, known as the Super 12s. The most notable omission is that of Zimbabwe, who were suspended from ICC events in 2019 due to 'government interference', meaning they weren't able to take part in the qualifying event.

Afghanistan will be taking part despite the Taliban's takeover and recent political upheaval. The ICC's acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice recently said their participation in the World Cup was not in doubt, although the ICC board is due to meet towards the end of the tournament where that situation and the flow-on effects for cricket, particularly women's cricket, will be on the agenda.

How does it work?

There are two rounds of the T20 World Cup, with Round 1 running from Oct 17 to 22 and the 'Super 12s' between October 23 and November 8. The semi-finals are on November 10 and 11 before the final, which will be held from 1am AEDT on November 15.

Round 1 features eight teams, split into two groups of four, who did not automatically qualify for the Super 12s. Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia are in Group A while Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman are in Group B.

Each team in Round 1 will play the other in their group once, before the top two from each group progress to the Super 12s, and the other teams are eliminated.

The eight teams who automatically qualified for the Super 12s – England, Australia, South Africa, the West Indies, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Afghanistan – did so as one of the top-eight ranked teams in the world at the cut-off date.

Those eight teams were then split into two groups based on their ranking in March this year and they will be joined by the four qualifiers from Round 1.

In this stage, each team will play the others in their group once, and the top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals.

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1, B2

Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, B1, A2

Click here for the full tournament schedule

And the warm-up games?

While the teams in Round 1 are battling it out for spots in the Super 12s, the eight teams who have already qualified for the second round will play two warm-up games each, with six of the eight matches to be broadcast on Foxtel and Kayo Sports in Australia.

This includes Australia's game against New Zealand from 1am AEDT on October 19 and their match against India from 9pm on October 20.

Click here for a full list of warm-up matches.

Who are the favourites to qualify for the Super 12s

Ireland's convincing warm-up win this week over Bangladesh, who are fresh off thumping series victories at home against Australia and New Zealand, underlines just how much the gap has closed between nations, especially in the T20 game.

Group A looks to be the strongest of the two groups in the first round and it would be a brave person to say the likes of Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia won't push Sri Lanka all the way in the quest for just two spots in the next round.

In Group B, Bangladesh have jumped to sixth in the world after their recent success and are favourites to top the group, with Scotland and Oman expected to battle for the second qualifying spot along with tournament first-timers, Papua New Guinea.

But don't be fooled by reputations; the opening round could well deliver a major shock or two.

Who are the favourites to win it?

Based on the current T20 world rankings, England (No.1) and India (No.2) are among the leading contenders, but the rankings don't always tell the full story. Way down in ninth spot is a power-packed West Indies side, featuring some of the best T20 players in the world, who many are tipping to defend their title. And given the fickle nature of the 20-over game, where a team's fortunes can change in the space of a single over, it's hard to say with any certainty who will be lifting the trophy on November 15.

ICC T20 rankings

1) England, 2) India, 3) Pakistan, 4) New Zealand, 5) South Africa, 6) Bangladesh, 7) Australia, 8) Afghanistan, 9) West Indies, 10) Sri Lanka, 11) Zimbabwe*, 12) Ireland, 13) Nepal*, 14) Scotland, 15) Papua New Guinea, 16) UAE*, 17) Netherlands, 18) Oman, 19) Namibia, 20) Singapore*

*did not qualify for the World Cup

Full squads

Click here for the full rundown on each squad

Can Australia win it?

Any team with names like Maxwell, Warner, Cummins and Starc has to be a major challenger at any T20 tournament, but Australia will need to overcome a difficult draw and a very disrupted preparation in order to be there at the pointy end of the tournament. A sheer lack of recent cricket might be a good thing as it means the players are fresh, but it could also mean they come into the event underdone. Warner and Cummins, for example, have missed Australia's past 18 T20 internationals, Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis are recovering from injury while the likes of Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh, Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar have been largely inactive over the past few months. And with England and the West Indies also in their group, qualifying for the semi-finals would be an impressive achievement.

What happened last time?

Given it is five-and-a-half years since the last T20 World Cup, it's easy to forget that the West Indies are the defending champions after that memorable last over from Carlos Brathwaite against England in Kolkata.

New Zealand and India were the other two semi-finalists last time around, while Australia missed the knockout stage after losing to those two teams while beating Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The Windies were meant to defend their title in Australia 12 months ago, but that tournament was postponed until 2022 due to the pandemic. It means whoever lifts the trophy in a month from now will only be champions for a year before their title goes on the line again.

Anything else to know?

There's a couple of minor changes to the playing conditions from previous events, including the use of the Decision Review System for the first time at a men's T20 World Cup.

The stifling desert heat, and the fact some games will start at 2pm local time, has also contributed to the introduction of mandatory drinks breaks at the 10-over mark of each innings.

There's also some juicy cash prizes on offer, with a total of A$7.6m up for grabs. The winner will pick up more than A$2.1m, the losing finalist half that amount and the two losing semi-finalists will pick up around A$540,000 each.

2021 Men's T20 World Cup

Australia's squad

Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams

Australia's matches

Oct 23v South Africa in Abu Dhabi (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

Oct 28v Qualifier A1 in Dubai (6pm local time, 1am Oct 29 AEDT)

Oct 30v England in Dubai (6pm local time, 1am Oct 31 AEDT)

Nov 4v Qualifier B2 in Dubai (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

Nov 6v West Indies in Abu Dhabi (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2021 ICC T20 WORLD CUP SCHEDULE

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SQUADS FOR ALL 16 TEAMS

How the teams are grouped

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1, B2

Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, B1, A2