Green kit ushers in new era for Aussies at T20 World Cup

This year's men's T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States will be the ninth edition of the tournament since it was first held in South Africa in 2007.

As the kit the Aussie men will wear this year is revealed to be a collar-less green and gold number, we take a look back at the past tournaments to recall how Australia has presented itself in previous contests.

2007

Host: South Africa 

Aussie result: Semi-finals

Ten teams played in a 13-day tournament in the inaugural World T20 event, and the kit from this tournament remains one of the most unique ever worn by Australia at a World Cup, characterised by the grey undershirt and yellow vest. It was polarising, but at least the yellow shirt front had some strong similarities to the top worn by the all-conquering 50-over World Cup team.

Unfortunately there wasn't much similarity to that Caribbean tournament in performances in South Africa, with the reigning 50-over World Cup champions Australia, losing to Zimbabwe first up. The Aussies rebounded to thump England and book a spot in the Super Eight stage. They beat Bangladesh as Brett Lee took the first ever hat-trick in a T20I but were thumped by Pakistan, before rebounding to destroy Sri Lanka by 10 wickets and book a semi-final spot, where they were undone by India as Yuvraj Singh hit 70 off 30 in a 15-run win.

2009

Host: England

Aussie result: First round

A forgettable tournament for Australia that was over in three days, with the third seeds bowing out in straight sets with defeats to the West Indies and Sri Lanka.

The Aussies again rolled out the vest and undershirt combination, but this time the grey was gone in favour of the same shade of green used for the Test caps. The yellow front with its three vertical stripes represented wickets. 

2010

Host: Caribbean

Aussie result: Runners-up

This tournament, just 10 months after the previous, saw Australia roll out an identical kit, but a starkly different performance. They blitzed Pakistan and Bangladesh in the first round, then hammered India, Sri Lanka and West Indies to charge into the semi-finals in hot form. There, Michael Hussey memorably steered Australia home against Pakistan with 60no off 24 balls. In the final they were beaten by England who won their first ever ICC event. 

2012

Host: Sri Lanka

Aussie result: Semi-finals

The first World T20 held in Asia, the first time the Aussies brought the black T20 kit to the world stage, and the first time an Australian side had worn anything other than gold at an ICC event since the introduction of coloured clothing. Australia first wore black for T20 internationals at home in the 2011-12 summer, introduced in a bold bid to differentiate it from the gold kits used in 50-over cricket with the thinking it would resonate better with a younger audience. It proved a polarising choice, but one the Aussies would stick with for a decade.

Australia started their tournament with a bang, hammering Ireland and were well ahead of the par score against the Windies when rain forced the match to be abandoned. In the second round they smashed India by nine wickets and South Africa by eight, with Shane Watson winning player of the match in all four games. They lost their third Super Eight game to Pakistan, but still finished top of the group to set-up a semi-final showdown with a West Indies side who had hit their straps. Chris Gayle hit 75no from 41 in a lopsided affair. 

2014

Host: Bangladesh

Aussie result: Second round

The tournament was expanded to 16 teams for the first time, and made a three-stage affair. Australia joined in the second round, known as the Super 10s, but there wasn't much super about their performance, losing to Pakistan, West Indies and India to be eliminated from the tournament before a consolation win against host nation Bangladesh. Bowled out for 86 chasing 160 by India, captain George Bailey called it the low point of his tenure and was scathing of his batters, saying: "I certainly do not think our batters can hold their heads particularly high in terms of our shot selection, our match awareness, our game sense, all the stuff that we spoke about in the last game that we were not particularly happy with."

2016

Host: India

Aussie result: Second round

The sixth World T20 and first hosted by India, Australia again entered in the Super 10s second round and failed to advance. A narrow first-up defeat by New Zealand was followed by a tense win against Bangladesh, before a more comfortable 21-run against Pakistan – with James Faulkner collecting a five-wicket haul – setting up a virtual quarter-final with India in the final Super 10 fixture. Australia's middle-order batters had struggled throughout the tournament and again so here, as Virat Kohli gave a masterclass in how to do it with an unbeaten 51-ball 82 that ended the Aussie campaign. This tournament is best remembered for Carlos Brathwaite's four successive sixes off Ben Stokes' bowling in the final. 

2021

Host: UAE and Oman

Aussie result: World Champions

Finally! At the seventh time of asking, Australia collected the one global trophy that had eluded them and lifted the T20 World Cup. 

The seventh edition of the tournament had originally been due to be hosted in Australia in 2020 before the Covid pandemic hit, was then going to be hosted by India in 2021 (an ICC tournament that was changed to the T20 format when the champions trophy was scrapped), but eventually ended up in the UAE. It suited Australia, who enjoyed a combination of hitting form at the right time and coin tosses falling the way of skipper Aaron Finch. The Aussies lost just the one match in the tournament – coincidentally the only match where Finch lost the coin toss and the Aussies were sent in to bat first. 

Australia entered the tournament not in the best of form, but the elevation of Mitch Marsh to No.3, sidelining Ashton Agar in favour of pace and sticking with Matt Wade in the 'finisher' role all proved masterstrokes. The Aussies beat South Africa and Sri Lanka, were thumped by tournament-favourites England when they left out Marsh and had to bat first, then rebounded with big wins against Bangladesh and West Indies to set up a semi-final with Pakistan. The Aussies looked in big trouble at 5-96 before Wade and Marcus Stoinis romped home with 81 runs from 40 balls to win with an over to spare. 

New Zealand shocked England in the other semi to set-up a trans-Tasman final. Despite 85 from Kane Williamson, the Aussies never looked too troubled, and Marsh's brutal 77no off 50 was a fitting final performance. 

In terms of playing kit, this tournament was the first time Australia had been required by the ICC to produce an alternate strip. They had been scheduled to wear a black, gold and green kit that mirrored the strip worn by Meg Lanning's team that won the women's T20 World Cup in March 2020 before the pandemic hit. That would have been fine as host nation, but for the UAE tournament, the ICC ruled it too closely resembled kits 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. CA chose to repurpose the 1980s retro-themed kit worn at the 2019 ODI World Cup in England. The alternate gold kit was worn in the opening match against South Africa, but not seen again until the final against the Kiwis.

It remains the only time Australia has worn two different kits at a World Cup.

2022

Host: Australia

Aussie result: Second round

A homecoming for the World Champions proved to be anything but a happy affair. Indeed, some might argue the Australian highlight of the tournament was the Indigenous-themed kit they wore, the first time an Australian cricket team had worn a playing strip representing the First Nations at a global event. As host nation, no clash strip was needed, and black was back as the predominant colour, with a green and gold gradient on the trunk of the playing top with Indigenous artwork flowing around the shirt. Even the cap got the treatment, featuring the colours of both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on the brim.

In a rematch of the 2021 final to open the tournament, Australia were thumped by 89 runs by NZ at the SCG and had an horrific net run rate (NRR) as a result that would ultimately prove terminal. Marcus Stoinis' hit a 17-ball fifty against Sri Lanka at Perth to lift things before a washout against England in Melbourne. But a lacklustre win against Ireland left the NRR in a parlous state, and a narrow four-run win over Afghanistan after Mitchell Starc was dropped left Australia requiring other results to fall their way.  

2024

Host: Caribbean and USA

Aussie result: TBC

A new era for Australia's T20 kits was launched for the 2023-24 summer, and has quickly built a strong following, and a winning pedigree. The yellow ODI kit used for the home summer was first debuted at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India that Australia famously won, and the T20 kit from the same stable will now be used at this year's T20 World Cup tournament. 

This current kit, featuring HCLTech logos prominently on the leading sleeve – as was the case at last year's ODI World Cup – and which is collarless for the men, is the first time Australia has worn a kit that is essentially all green in the shortest format, officially ending the era of the black T20 designs first introduced in the 2011-12 summer. 

As with the kit across all formats, the T20 kit includes the Walkabout Wickets artwork designed by Aunty Fiona Clarke on the side panels of the shirts.

"When you think of green and gold you think of Australia," fast bowler Josh Hazlewood said of the new T20 kit. "The black worked for a few years, but now it's back to green and gold, so that's great news."

The T20 World Cup has been expanded to 20 teams this year, with all teams to play from the first round. So Australia will meet Namibia, Scotland and Oman as well as England in a bid to make the Super Eight. 

2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup

Australia's Group B fixtures

June 6: v Oman, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 10.30am AEST

June 9: v England, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 3am AEST

June 12: v Namibia, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, 10.30am AEST

June 16: v Scotland, Daren Sammy Stadium, St Lucia, 10.30am AEST

Super Eight fixtures TBC

27 June: Semi-final 1, Brian Lara Academy, Trinidad, 10.30am AEST

28 June: Semi-final 2, Providence Stadium, Guyana, 12.30am AEST

30 June: Final, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 12.30am AEST

For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime