Ultimate guide to the 2024 women's T20 World Cup

When does it start?

The tournament begins on Thursday, October 3 when Bangladesh meets Scotland at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium at 2pm local time (8pm AEST).

Alyssa Healy’s team will then begin their quest for an unprecedented fourth consecutive title on October 5 at 2pm (8pm AEST) when they meet an in-form Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

The tournament was originally due to be hosted by Bangladesh with matches in Dhaka and Sylhet. But the event was moved to the United Arab Emirates in mid-August, due to political turmoil and violence in Bangladesh.

The 2024 T20 World Cup will be contested by 10 nations, with the top six finishers from the last event in 2023 joined by Pakistan, who claimed their spot as the next highest ranked team at the February 2023 cut-off date. Bangladesh take their spot as tournament hosts despite the shift in host country, while the final two spots are filled by Sri Lanka and Scotland, who earned their spots at the qualifying event held in the UAE earlier in the year.

Scotland are making their first women’s T20 World Cup appearance.

Check out the full fixture here.

How can I watch the tournament?

All 23 matches will be shown live on Amazon's Prime Video online subscription streaming service in Australia after the internet giant acquired the Aussie broadcast rights for all ICC events for 2024-27.

There will be no free-to-air Australian broadcast of any men's or women's ICC events under the deal. You can read more about that here.

For those looking to catch up on the action, there will be 10- and 25-minute highlight packages available, alongside full match replays available immediately after the match has finished. There will also be a ‘rapid recap’ feature for fans joining the broadcast late to bring them up to speed with a two-minute highlights package of action so far. For the first time, the 10-minute highlight packages will be available for free for fans in Australia without a Prime membership.

Prime Video is included in a Prime membership, which is better known for free shipping for Amazon's online shopping arm. Prime members will be able to watch ICC matches anywhere and anytime through the Prime Video app for smart TVs, mobile devices and Apple TV, as well as through a web browser. Through the app, subscribers will be able to download matches to their mobile devices and tablets and watch anywhere offline at no additional cost.

Prime Video has also unveiled former Australia captain Meg Lanning as its official ambassador for the World Cup. Lanning, who led Australia to four T20 World Cup triumphs, most recently in South Africa last year prior to her retirement, will offer expert insight and analysis of the tournament.

Amazon offers a 30-day free trial for new Prime members, which is quite handy given Australia's first fixture is October 5 and the final is on October 20.

Click here to join Prime Video

How's the time difference?

All the games are scheduled to begin at either 2pm or 6pm local time. In bad news for the sleeping patterns of Australian viewers, all but one of Australia’s group games, plus all the finals, will be played at 6pm. There’s also the start of daylight savings on October 6 to take into account!

A tweak to the schedule means that Australia's opening game against Sri Lanka, originally scheduled for the evening, will now be played at 2pm local on October 5. This means that for viewers in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, the ACT and Tasmania, the first ball will be bowled at 8pm. For those in South Australia or the Northern Territory it will begin at 7.30pm, while for those in WA it will start at 6pm.

On October 6, the clocks go forward for the states and territories with daylights savings. That means Australia’s remaining matches, and the tournament finals, will begin at 1am for those in Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and the ACT, and for those in SA, they will begin at 12.30am. In the NT they will begin at 11.30pm, while WA viewers can tune in from 10pm. 

For those wanting to watch as much cricket as possible but who can't stay up all night, there are also plenty of afternoon matches not featuring Australia, beginning at 8pm AEST, 9pm AEDT, 8.30pm ACDT, 7.30 ACST or 6pm WST.

Where do I get live scores, news and highlights?

The cricket.com.au website and CA Live app is the place to go for live scores and the latest news throughout the tournament. We'll also have extensive coverage each day with reports, video recaps, interviews and behind-the-scenes insights from our crew on the ground in the UAE. Our reporter Laura Jolly is following the Aussie team throughout the World Cup to bring fans closer to the action.

What's the tournament format?

The 10 teams are split into two groups of five, with teams meeting each other once in a single round robin to decide the top two teams to progress to the semi-finals.

The top-spot finisher in the group will meet the second-place finisher in the two semi-finals, with the winners progressing to the final in Dubai.

2024 Women's T20 World Cup Groups
Group A	Group B
Australia	Bangladesh
India	England
New Zealand	Scotland
Pakistan	South Africa
Sri Lanka	West Indies

 

Australia team news

Darcie Brown has recovered from a foot injury to be named in Australia's squad but there was no room for in-form spinner Jess Jonassen.

Brown was the only inclusion to the group that featured in Australia's last T20 series in March.

The quick was originally named for that Dhaka tour before pulling out at the last minute with a foot injury, but the 21-year-old has now recovered and is set to form an exciting express duo with Tayla Vlaeminck.

Vlaeminck is set to play in her first World Cup since the 2018 event in the West Indies, after she missed the 2020 and 2023 T20 tournaments and the 2022 ODI World Cup in New Zealand due to injury.

Left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux will play in an ICC event for the first time since she stole the show on stage with Katy Perry at the MCG in 2020, continuing her upwards trajectory after breaking back into the national side earlier this year.

Australia 2024 women's T20 World Cup squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Tayla Vlaeminck

What are the host venues?

The original schedule had Group A based in Sylhet and Group B in Dhaka, but the close proximity of the two new venues in Dubai and Sharjah means all teams will be based in Dubai, and games from both groups will be split between the two grounds.

Australia will play three of their four group stage matches at Sharjah Cricket Ground, while their match against Pakistan will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The first semi-final on October 17 and the final on October 20 will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, while the second semi-final will be played at Sharjah Cricket Ground on October 18.

Ok, so lay out all the Aussie matches for me

Australia's Group A fixtures

October 5: v Sri Lanka, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 8pm AEST

October 8: v New Zealand, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 9 AEDT

October 11: v Pakistan, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 12 AEDT

October 13: v India, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 14 AEDT

Finals

October 17: Semi-final 1, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 18 AEDT

October 18: Semi-final 2, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 19 AEDT

October 20: Final, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 21 AEDT

For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches live and exclusive on Prime Video. Sign up here for a 30-day free trial 

What about reserve days? 

The two semi-finals and the final have reserve days in the calendar in the unlikely event weather will interfere in the UAE.

Should either semi-final be unable to complete, the higher placed side from the group stage will progress.

How do I buy tickets?

The ICC has now confirmed ticket prices for the tournament, starting at five dirhams ($AU2) with free entry for under-18s. To buy tickets click here or visit the official tournament website for details on how to buy in person at the stadiums.

What does the winner get?

The ICC has announced record prize money including a total pool of $US7,958,080 ($AU11.76m) — more than double that of the 2023 edition - after last year confirming it would begin awarding equal prize money for men's and women's events.

The winners will walk away with $US2.34m ($AU3.46m), marking a 134 per cent increase from the $1 million awarded to Australia in 2023.

The runners-up will be awarded $US1.17m, another increase of 134 per cent.

The semi-finalists will each receive $US675k ($AU998k), more than three times their 2023 payout.

Each group stage win will be rewarded with $US31,154 ($AU46,047).

All 10 participating teams are also assured of a base prize of $US112,500, and the six teams who fail to reach the semi-finals will share a pool of $US1.35 million depending on their finishing positions.

Teams who finish third or fourth in their group will take $270,000 each while the teams who finish fifth in their group will both receive $135,000.

Teams finishing third or fourth in their groups will earn $US270k ($AU399k) each, while the teams who finish fifth will earn $US135k ($AU200) each.

Who is commentating?

A female-led, star-studded commentary team will provide expert insights throughout the tournament. World Cup winners Mel Jones, Lisa Sthalekar, Stacy Ann King, Lydia Greenway and Carlos Brathwaite will be joined by fellow former players Anjum Chopra, Mithali Raj, Sana Mir and Katey Martin, as well as ex-India coach WV Raman.

Alongside these icons, some of the leading voices in cricket broadcasting including Natalie Germanos, Ian Bishop, Kass Naidoo, Nasser Hussain, Alison Mitchell, and Mpumelelo Mbangwa will complete the commentary line-up, with Naidoo and Laura McGoldrick sharing presenting duties for build-up shows.

Who is officiating?

The ICC has named a 13-strong all-female panel of match officials. Claire Polosak will bring the most experience to the panel, having officiated in four previous Women’s T20 World Cup tournaments. Kim Cotton and Jacqueline Williams, who officiated the 2023 final in Cape Town,  will be making their fourth appearances at the event.

Sue Redfern, who served as the TV umpire for the previous final, also returns for her fourth appearance at the tournament. Zimbabwe's Sarah Dambanevana will make her Women’s T20 World Cup umpiring debut.

Umpires: Lauren Agenbag, Kim Cotton, Sarah Dambanevana, Anna Harris, Nimali Perera, Claire Polosak, Vrinda Rathi, Sue Redfern, Eloise Sheridan, Jacquiline Williams.

Match Referees: Shandré Fritz, GS Lakshmi, Michell Pereira.

Who are the previous winners?

2009: England

2010: Australia

2012: Australia

2014: Australia

2016: West Indies

2018: Australia

2020: Australia

2023: Australia