Fans' guide to the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup

A World Cup! In Australia! So how does the tournament work?

This year's T20 World Cup is a 10-team competition, split into two groups of five.

Each team will play the other four sides in their group, and the top two teams at the end of the group stage advance to the semi-finals.

Making up Group A are Australia, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – a very tough group where all of the first three would be bitterly disappointed to miss out on a spot in the semi-finals.

In Group B, England are joined by South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan and Thailand, who are making their World Cup debut.

A win earns two points, a loss none and a tie, no result or abandoned match will earn a single point. There are no bonus points.

Both semi-finals will be played as a double-header at the Sydney Cricket Ground on March 5, before the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 8, which is also International Women's Day.

Australia have won four of the six T20 World Cups to date and go in as defending champions and the world's top-ranked team.

This is also the first time Australia have hosted a T20 World Cup and the first women's event held here since 2009 so do not miss out! Get your tickets HERE.

How can I watch?

Kayo and Fox Cricket will carry every game of the World Cup, broadcasting in high definition and ad-break free during play.

The Nine Network will broadcast free-to-air coverage of every Australian game on GEM, selected other matches and both semi-finals and the final.

Other games GEM will screen are: NZ v Sri Lanka on Feb 22 (10pm AEDT); England v South Africa on Feb 23 (9.30pm AEDT); India v NZ on Feb 27 (2.30pm AEDT); England v Pakistan on Feb 28 (6.30pm AEDT); England v West Indies on March 1 (6.30pm AEDT); and the West Indies v South Africa on March 3 (6.30pm AEDT).

Click here for a full list of T20 World Cup fixtures.

Not signed up to Kayo yet? Well, there's never been a better time, and you can get a 14-day free trial by clicking right HERE.

How can I support the Aussies throughout the World Cup?

Whether it's from the stands, on the couch at home or in the office, there are plenty of ways to get behind the Australian women throughout the T20 World Cup. To help the team get their title defence underway in style, Aussie fans are being encouraged to don the green and gold for Colours Day on Friday ahead of the team's first match and share their support using the hashtag #CmonAussie.

For fans who can't make it to the ground, the next best thing is getting a crew together and hosting a viewing party to cheer on the team. Join in the fun from the couch, clubhouse, classroom or office by downloading the free #CmonAussie Party Pack HERE. 

Prizes are on offer, including an all expenses VIP trip to Melbourne to attend the World Cup Final at the MCG on March 8.

How about radio coverage?

ABC Grandstand will be providing live coverage of every match of the World Cup.

What if I want my scores online?

Then you're in the right place! The cricket.com.au match centre and CA Live app will bring you live scoring from every World Cup match.

What else have you got for me?

How about unrivalled coverage from on the ground with the Australian team, plus all the latest news, analysis and highlights you could want?

Make sure you don't miss a moment of the Aussies' campaign by following them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

And if you aren't already subscribed to The Unplayable Podcast, do yourself a favour!

Squads?

Here's Australia's squad, and you can find all of the others – plus what kit they're wearing – HERE.

Australia: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

Want more information on each team? Check out our team-by-team previews!

Australia | Bangladesh | India | New Zealand | Sri Lanka

England | Pakistan | South Africa | Thailand | West Indies

So where is this being played?

Get ready, Australia. This tournament will be played in four different cities at six different venues.

In Sydney, Showgrounds Stadium will host group matches including the blockbuster tournament opener between Australia and India on February 21, while the SCG will host both semi-finals.

Perth's WACA Ground and Canberra's Manuka Oval are also hosting group matches, while Brisbane's Allan Border Field and Adelaide's Karen Rolton Oval were the two warm-up hubs ahead of the tournament.

In Melbourne, group matches will be played at Junction Oval, while the final will be played at the MCG on March 8, which is also International Women's Day.

The ICC and CA hope that final will attract a world record crowd in excess of 94,000 for a standalone women's sporting event – and to help the cause, pop superstar Katy Perry has jumped on board and will perform two songs before the game as well as an hour-long concert once the winning team has raised the trophy.

Fixtures

There's 22 games in total in this tournament. The Aussie matches are at the bottom of the page but for a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE.

Prize money?

The ICC has increased the prize money pool for the 2020 World Cup by a whopping 320 per cent on the 2018 tournament. The winners will receive $US1 million (A$1.475m), with the runners-up to take home $US500,000 (A$737,500).

However, those figures still fall short of what the men will receive when their World Cup is held later this year – something that prompted Cricket Australia to pledge to top up any prize money won by Australia's women's cricket team at the event. For example, if Australia win the tournament, CA would top up the $US1m winners' prize money with a further $US600,000 (A$885,000) to ensure parity.

How did the warm-up games go?

The big wet in Brisbane caused havoc early on, forcing the cancellation of Australia's first warm-up against West Indies due to a waterlogged outfield at Allan Border Field, while India v Pakistan and Bangladesh v Thailand suffered the same fate.

But when the ground dried out, India took on the West Indies – only just hanging on for a two-run win.

Over in Adelaide, England gained early confidence when they cruised to a six-wicket win over New Zealand, but were humbled just two days later when, after mixing up their batting order to sit out Heather Knight and give others a chance, suffered a shock 10-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka, thanks to an explosive 71no from Chamari Athapaththu.

Australia overcome a top-order wobble to defeat South Africa by four wickets, thanks to a 90-run partnership between Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes, while New Zealand completed their preparations with victory over Thailand.

What else do I need to know?

The ICC have brought in a couple of key changes since their last major event – read: Super Overs have changed – so here are a couple of key points!

Super Overs?

You may remember a little drama involving a Super Over and a World Cup final last year.

Things are a bit different thing time around. In group games it is business as usual – if the match is a tie, a Super Over is played. If the Super Over is also a tie, the points are split.

But in knock-out matches, new rules come into play.

In the semi-finals and final, if the match is tied a Super Over is played. If the Super Over is a tie, then subsequent Super Overs shall be played until there is a winner. Unless exceptional circumstances arise, there shall be an unlimited number of Super Overs played to achieve a result. Strap yourselves in!

If we have more than one Super Over, any batter that is dismissed is ineligible to return in the following Super Over, and a bowler cannot bowl two Super Overs in a row.

If we get a tied Super Over, the team that bats second in the first Super Over will be batting first in the next one, and the bowlers will swap ends.

If conditions prevent a Super Over from being completed (including on the reserve day) in the semi-final, then the higher-ranked team goes through to the final.

If there's a tie in the final and there's no way to complete a Super Over, then we'll have joint winners.

Aside from that, the Super Over format itself remains pretty standard. The team batting second in the match will bat first in the Super Over. The bowler can choose whichever end to bowl from, and each team gets one review. If two wickets fall, that ends the over – but does not preclude further Super Over being played, if the deadlock remains.

No balls

In a first for a global tournament, the third umpires will be responsible for calling front foot no-balls via television replays during the World Cup. The on-field officials will be instructed to no longer call no-balls when a bowler oversteps the front line, meaning they can focus their attention on the batter at the striker's end. Instead, the third officials will monitor the bowler's front foot via television and, if a bowler oversteps, instruct the on-field umpire to signal a no-ball. It comes after three successful trials of the method, the first of which came in 2016. There will be a delay of about three seconds between the delivery and the television official calling no-ball.

What if it rains?

The tournament will use the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method and during the group stage and the semi-finals, results will be determined on the day. If no result is possible in the semi-finals, the higher-ranked team progressed. The final, however, has a reserve day allocated so if the match can't be completed on March 8, teams will be able to return the next day.

Tie breakers?

If any teams are locked on equal points after the group stage, they will have the tie broken by the following methods, in order: 1 The team with the most wins; 2 The team with the best Net Run Rate; 3 Head-to-head result (points, then if still equal, Net Run Rate). And if all that doesn't work, it will revert to the seedings for this tournament.

Over rate offences?

It's important to note that all captains will start the World Cup with a clean slate, and no over rate demerit points hanging over from previous bilateral series will count against them at the start of the tournament. However, once the tournament begins the usual rules will apply. Two 'minor' over rate offences will see a captain suspended for a match, or one 'serious' offence will earn a suspension of two matches. The ICC deems being one or two overs short of the over rate a 'minor' offence, and anything more is 'serious'.

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

February 21:Australia v India, Sydney Showgrounds

February 24: Australia v Sri Lanka, WACA Ground

February 27: Australia v Bangladesh, Manuka Oval 

March 2: Australia v New Zealand, Junction Oval

March 5: Semi-final 1 & Semi-final 2, SCG

March 8: Final, MCG

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE

* All matches will be broadcast on Fox Cricket and Kayo, while Australia's matches will also be broadcast on the Nine Network