Ultimate Guide: All you need to know for T20 World Cup

When does it start?

Finally, it's here! This tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Australia in late 2020, but the global COVID-19 pandemic saw it postponed.

This year's T20 World Cup includes 45 matches, 16 teams, seven grounds and four different time zones across 28 days. Phew.

After such a long wait for this event, which paradoxically is just 12 months since the previous version because of that Covid shuffle, the 2022 event gets underway on Sunday, with the first round starting at Geelong's Kardinia Park.

How does it work?

There are two rounds of the T20 World Cup, with Round 1 running from October 16- 21, before the 'Super 12s' start with Australia's first match on October 22. The Super 12s run until November 6, with the semi-finals on November 9 in Sydney and November 10 in Adelaide before the final at the MCG on the evening of November 13.

Round 1 features eight teams, split into two groups of four, who did not automatically qualify for the Super 12s. 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. All matches in this round are played either at Geelong's Kardinia Park, or Hobart's Blundstone Arena.

The eight teams who automatically qualified for the Super 12s earned their direct qualification at last November's tournament in the UAE, and 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: Namibia, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, UAE

Group B: Ireland, Scotland, West Indies, Zimbabwe

Super 12s

Group 1: Afghanistan, Australia, England, New Zealand, A1, B2

Group 2: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, B1, A2

The finals

The semi-finals will be played on November 9 and 10, in Sydney and Adelaide respectively. Should Australia reach the final four, they will play in in the November 9 semi-final in Sydney, regardless of whether they finish first or second in their group.

If Australia don't make the final four, the first semi-final in Sydney will be Group 1 winner v Group 2 runner-up, and Group 2 winner v Group 1 runner-up in Adelaide.

The final will be played at the MCG on Sunday November 13

All matches start at 7pm AEDT.

Click here for the full tournament schedule

How can I watch?

Foxtel and Kayo Sports are the only place you can watch every single match of the T20 World Cup.

This tournament also has a free-to-air broadcaster for Australia, with cricket returning to the Nine Network, who continue to hold rights for ICC events.

Nine will broadcast 14 matches during the tournament, including every Australian game and the finals on either their main channel or 9Gem, and on their streaming platform 9Now.

Foxtel and Kayo will broadcast every one of the tournament's 45 matches, as well as four warm-up fixtures featuring Super 12 teams being played at the Gabba next week, including Australia's clash with India on Monday.

Kayo offers a 7-day free trial to all new subscribers. You can sign up for that here.

What games are on free-to-air?

October 22: Australia v New Zealand and England v Afghanistan, from 6pm AEDT

October 23: India v Pakistan, 7pm AEDT

October 25: Australia v Group A winner, 10pm AEDT

October 26: New Zealand v Afghanistan, 7pm AEDT

October 28: Australia v England, 7pm AEDT

October 30: India v South Africa, 10pm AEDT

October 31: Australia v Group B runner-up, 7pm AEDT

November 1: England v New Zealand, 7pm AEDT

November 4: Australia v Afghanistan, 7pm AEDT

November 6: India v Group B winner, 7pm AEDT

November 9: Semi-final 1, 7pm AEDT

November 10: Semi-final 2, 7pm AEDT

November 13: Final, 7pm AEDT

Matches will be broadcast across a combination of Channel 9 and 9Gem, as well as shown on 9Now. Check local guides for more detail.

Can I listen?

The ABC amd SEN will both be providing radio coverage of all 45 games from the first round through to the final.

Can I still get tickets?

Australia's opening match against New Zealand at the SCG is a sell-out, and India's blockbuster clash with Pakistan at the MCG unsurprisingly sold out within minutes, so unless you already have a ticket for those games, it will be watching on TV for you.

Otherwise, there are tickets available, but many matches, particularly games featuring Australia or India, only have limited availability remaining.

Ticket prices vary across venues, but kids can get in for as little as $5, while adult tickets for Aussie games start at $30, but are as low as $20 for some non-Australia matches. The cheapest tickets remaining for the final start at $175 for adults up to $395 (plus booking fees).

The Women's T20 World Cup final at the MCG in March 2020 had 86,174 people turn out to see Meg Lanning's Aussie women dance away with the trophy before a Katy Perry concert, while the 2015 ODI World Cup final at the MCG had 93,013 fans turn up to see an Aussie triumph.

Get your tickets here

Who are the favourites to qualify for the Super 12s

Sri Lanka and the West Indies are the biggest names in the first round after they finished bottom of the pack at the Super 12s tournament last year, and would have to be favourites to finish top of Group A and B, respectively.

However the beauty of T20 is its such a fickle game, it's hard to predict with any certainty.

Sri Lanka, fresh from winning the Asia Cup, look strong favourites in Group A, with Namibia, who made the Super 12s at last year's tournament, and the Netherlands looking set to battle for the second spot.

Group B looks set to be a tight contest. The Windies slip to the first round after their ninth-placed finish as last year's tournament, while Scotland also made the Super 12s last year with Ireland keen to make amends for their shock first-round exit last year while Zimbabwe are making their first tournament appearance since 2016.

The Group A winner will join Australia, Afghanistan, England and New Zealand, along with the Group B runner-up.

The Group B winner and Group A runner-up go into the Super 12s with Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and South Africa.

What are the Aussies wearing?

Keen kit watchers will remember Australia wore two separate strips at last year's event – the first time they had been mandated by the ICC to produce an alternate clash strip. This tournament will also produce another first with Australia wearing an Indigenous themed strip at a global event for the first time.

With black sleeves and a green and gold gradient on the trunk of the playing top, artwork flows around the shirt, while a cap features the colours of both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on the brim.

You can purchase a replica kit via the Official Cricket Shop.

Image Id: 2D2D5610785244FE9B994840E5BB06BF Image Caption: Australia's Indigenous-themed T20 World Cup // AFP

Any other elite kits to look out for?

You bet. Zimbabwe's striking yellow top and red trousers has won hearts in the cricket.com.au team, while Sri Lanka have gone with a climate-change themed top that "incorporates design elements highlighting deforestation and melting glaciers to raise awareness about the climate change affecting the world". India have refreshed their kit with a return to a light blue shade, while New Zealand have gone with a retro-inspired look with grey and black and red stars from their flag.

Image Id: 49EA7D644C1F43AAADCD4D2AAD38E469 Image Caption: Clive Madande models Zimbabwe's T20 World Cup kit // Getty Image Id: 0D1D071CD6BE4889A652EB71FBFB8DFF Image Caption: Strong retro vibes from the Black Caps here // NZC

Who are the Aussies to watch?

Plenty of eyes will be on Aussie big hitter Tim David who has forced his way into this tournament on the back of breathtaking death-overs hitting in domestic leagues around the world. He's got international experience playing for Singapore and has played a handful of matches for Australia in the lead-up to this tournament, and now looks set to keep Steve Smith out of the starting XI.

Australia captain Aaron Finch is another to keep an eye on, with the enormous pressure and scrutiny that comes with a home World Cup piling on top of his already patchy form coming into this tournament. Finch has recently retired from ODI cricket.

Glenn Maxwell has so endured an unprecedented run of seven single-digit scores in T20 internationals, but the Aussies have stressed repeatedly they are building to peak at the back end of the World Cup, not the start.

How best to use Steve Smith is sure to be a debate that will rage throughout this tournament. Undeniably one of the best of the world in the longer formats, he looks an option to be squeezed out of the starting XI with Mitch Marsh secure at No.3 and a middle order of Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and David.

Matthew Wade will be making his international swansong at this tournament, having already flagged it will be his last matches for Australia.

From the pace bowlers, Josh Hazlewood has gone from strength to strength as a T20 weapon over the past 12-18 months and will be keen to show Aussie crowds how potent he can be in the shortest format, while Mitchell Starc showed he might be entering a new phase of his career when he did not take the new ball in a match against England.

In the spin stocks, Adam Zampa will again be out to defy critics and underline his value to Australia's T20 side, and Ashton Agar is looking for an opportunity to force his way back into the team having been sidelined at last year's T20 World Cup.

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

For all the T20 World Cup squads, click here

Who are the favourites to win it?

Australia are the defending champions, but sit just sixth on the ICC's official team rankings. A home World Cup makes the Aussies heavy favourites, but unlike the 50-over version which has been won by the host nation at the past three events, no host nation has ever won the T20 World Cup.

England showed they are intent on holding both white-ball World Cups, showing off their serious batting firepower with a 2-0 series win against the Aussies, and with Jos Buttler and Alex Hales firing, the destructive Ben Stokes batting high in the order and Mark Wood and Chris Woakes in great form, they are a serious threat.

India sit atop the world rankings, but lost a warm-up against a Western Australia XI this week. Jasprit Bumrah's back injury is a major blow, but Mohammed Shami is an excellent death overs bowler. Virat Kohli has been showing signs he's coming back to his best while they boast fearsome hitters with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya as well as skipper Rohit Sharma.

Pakistan have been boosted by the late inclusion of speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi, but so much rests on their batters Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan, while Harris Rauf will be familiar with conditions given his Big Bash experience. A mercurial team, it's never wise to write them off.

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 impossible to say with any certainty who will be lifting the trophy on November 13.

What if it rains?

It's been a bit wet about parts of Australia recently, but fingers crossed that won't affect the T20 World Cup.

If it does, it's important to note that reserve days have been scheduled for both semi-finals and the final, but no other matches will have a reserve day.

The minimum number of overs required to constitute a match in T20 cricket is just five overs per side, and the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculation will be used in the event of any rain delays.

Show me the money?

There is a US$5.6 million pot to be carved up for this tournament (that's A$9 million), with all 16 teams to receive something.

The tournament winners will get a hefty US$1.6m (A$2.5m) prize for lifting the trophy. The beaten finalists will get half of that.

The two teams to lose in the semi-finals will each receive US$400,000 (A$645,000).

Teams will receive US$40,000 for each win in both the first round and Super 12 stages. The four teams that exit in the first round will receive a further US$40,000, while there will be US$70,000 for the eight Super 12 teams that don't make the semi-finals.

Anything else to know?

The ICC introduced new playing conditions on October 1, the most notable of which has been the move to legitimise the so-called 'Mankad' dismissal by including it in the 'run out' section of the laws of the game. The issue hit the spotlight again recently when India's women utilised the dismissal to defeat England, and Mitch Starc halted play to warn Jos Buttler in Canberra on Friday night.

Teams failing to bowl their overs in their allotted time will see an in-match fielding penalty apply, with an extra fielder to come inside the ring for any overs remaining after the scheduled innings time has passed.

And batters are now longer able to cross when a catch is taken, with the new batter coming in at the end the dismissed batter was at.

And just in case you forgot, the boundary countback rule was done away with back in late 2019 after that clause saw England awarded their first ODI World Cup that year.