Why Australia will wear two kits at the T20 World Cup

Australia's men will wear a clash strip for the first time at an ICC tournament at this year's T20 World Cup in the UAE, and have been directed to don the alternate kit for their opening match on Saturday.

Australia's main black, gold and green kit mirrors the strip worn by Meg Lanning's team that won the women's T20 World Cup in March last year, and was scheduled to be Australia's kit at the men's event 12 months ago.

That event was subsequently postponed amid the global COVID-19 pandemic and the Asics kit – with a design inspired by the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the venue for the tournaments' final  – was mothballed.

But it is understood the men's squad were big fans of the design, and it was resurrected for this year's rescheduled tournament in the UAE.

However, the ICC ruled the kit too closely resembled that which would be worn by some other nations, particularly the Associate nations who don't have the resources to produce two kits, and a clash strip had to be produced, leading CA to repurpose the kit worn at the 2019 ODI World Cup in England.

Australia have been directed by the ICC to wear their yellow kit against South Africa, whom they face in their Super 12 opening match on Saturday (9pm AEDT, Fox Cricket and Kayo) and will bring it out of the kit bag again if they face Scotland, Namibia or Papua New Guinea.

Image Id: CB1ECE7585684C259BBCF36E33B193E6 Image Caption: South Africa's green kit that forced Australia into the yellow alternate // Getty

Scotland, who rolled Bangladesh in their first game of the group stage, are well positioned to qualify into the Super 12 stage and could face Australia, but it is unlikely Aaron Finch's team will face Namibia or PNG.

The Aussies wore their alternate in Monday night's warm-up game against New Zealand, but if the two teams meet again – which can only happen in the semi-finals or final – both will wear their first-choice black kit.

Australia will wear their first-choice black and gold kit in their second warm-up against India on Wednesday night.The predominately black kit, having been designed to be worn during an Australian summer, is made of a cooler material than the yellow kit that was first worn in a UK summer.

The introduction of a clash strip for limited-overs formats has been in practice for the past few World Cup events, and the Australia women wore an alternate strip during their triumphant T20 World Cup campaign in the Caribbean in November 2018.

Coloured clothing was introduced to World Cup events in 1992, when all teams wore variations on the same style in one of the most iconic cricket kits ever produced.

The four ODI World Cup events prior to that between 1975 and 1987, the last of which was won by Australia, were all played in whites.

Image Id: 6776D17E4D6B43218C8641D005952C6E

The UAE tournament is the last time the MCG inspired kit will be seen, with new Asics designs in store for the 2021-22 home summer.

The ODI kit that will be worn for matches against New Zealand in late January, early February will feature a traditional green and gold colour scheme, while the T20 kit will again be predominantly black.

The T20 kit was designed by Western Australian cricket fan and graphic designer Kai Jaeger, who won a 'design the kit' competition run in early 2020. The both of the new limited-overs shirts have already been seen on the Australian women's team in their series against India.

Image Id: 6FB4133E30264298ABE46EFE1470CB95 Image Caption: The 2021-22 design for Australia's men's and women's T20 teams // Getty

A stunning new Asics design has been approved for Australia to wear at the 2022 men's T20 World Cup where, as host nation, they will not be required to have an alternate available.

That kit is expected to be unveiled next year in the lead-up to the tournament.

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)

All matches live and exclusive to Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports.

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