Ultimate guide to the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup | cricket.com.au

When does it start?

The 2024 men’s T20 World Cup begins on Saturday, June 1 (10.30am Sunday, June 2 AEST) with the oldest rivalry in international cricket – the United States and Canada. Before the Ashes were even thought of, these two nations played in the first ever international cricket match in 1844 with Canada emerging victorious by 23 runs in the three-day contest at a field in Staten Island, New York.

This year’s match will take place in Dallas at Grand Prairie Stadium, a former baseball park that was converted to a purpose-built cricket venue for the inaugural Major League Cricket season in 2023. Australia – fresh off their remarkable triumph in last year’s 50-over version – begin their quest for a second men’s T20 World Cup crown against Oman in Barbados on June 5 (10.30am, June 6 AEST) before facing archrivals and defending champions England at the same venue on June 8 (3am, June 9 AEST).

Co-hosts West Indies face Papua New Guinea in the second match of the tournament, India kick off their campaign against Ireland on June 5 (midnight, June 6 AEST) at New York’s new pop-up cricket stadium, Pakistan open their tournament the following day against the US in Dallas, while trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand are one of the last teams to get underway on June 7 (9.30am, June 8 AEST) against Afghanistan in Guyana.

The 2024 T20 World Cup will be contested by a record 20 nations, an expansion from 16 teams at the 2022 edition that was hosted by Australia. Canada and Uganda have qualified for the men’s tournament for the first time, while the USA will also contest their maiden T20 World Cup by virtue of being co-host.

Check out the full fixture here.

How can I watch?

All 55 matches will be shown live on Amazon Prime Video 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.

The time difference is a bit of a dog’s breakfast for Australian viewers with matches stretching across a 13-hour window from a 12.30am start times to 10.30am start times on the east coast. Australia’s tournament-opener against Oman begins at 10.30am AEST, while the first ball of the blockbuster second match against Ashes rivals England is at 3am AEST, which is a slightly tougher 1am on the west coast. Australia’s remaining two Group B matches against Namibia and Scotland get underway at 10.30am AEST (8.30am AWST).

What’s the tournament format?

The largest T20 World Cup in the tournament’s history will again feature three stages – an initial group stage followed by the Super Eights and finals. The 20 teams have been split into four groups of five for the round-robin first stage of the tournament, with the top two teams to progress after each nation plays their other four group members. Teams receive two points for a win and one point for a no result. In the event of a tie, a Super Over will decide the winner. Group A will play all their matches in the United States, along with the first six matches of Group D, with the remaining four split between St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Upon completion of the first group stage, the top two teams from each of the four groups will move into the Super Eight stage of the competition. Teams seeded first and second in their groups in the first round will retain that seeding in the next stage regardless of their final position on group table, provided they qualify for the Super Eight stage. England are seeded first in Group B followed by Australia in second, meaning the Aussies will go into Group 1 as B2 in the second round regardless of their position on the table. Should a team ranked three to five make it out of the group, they will take the seed of the team they knocked out. All Super Eight matches will take place in the Caribbean.

If – and it’s a big if in a T20 tournament – there are no major upsets and all the seeded teams progress, Australia will play Sri Lanka, New Zealand and India in that order in their three Super Eight fixtures.

The two top teams from each group in the Super Eight will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago on June 26 and 27 respectively. The final will be held in Barbados on Saturday, June 29. Reserve days have been scheduled for both semi-finals and the final.

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 29-day 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 India.

Our reporters Josh Schonafinger and Louis Cameron are following the Aussie team throughout the World Cup to bring fans closer to the action. You can also catch up on all the latest news via the Unplayable Podcast, where we will be joined by special guests to dissect all the talking points throughout the tournament, so make sure you’re subscribed to keep up to date.

Australia team news

Australia announced their 15-player squad on May 1 and the big talking point was Steve Smith being left out of a World Cup campaign for the first time in a decade. Selectors also resisted the urge to whisk IPL sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk into the touring party for what would have been his T20 international debut.

Western Australia allrounders Ashton Agar and Cameron Green were the two surprise selections for the 2021 champions having not played a T20I in almost 18 months. Mitch Marsh has been confirmed as captain of an experienced and settled side that could see opener Travis Head replacing retired former skipper Aaron Finch as the only change from the XI that contested Australia’s opening match of the previous T20 World Cup.

Death specialist Nathan Ellis earned selection as the fourth fast bowling option behind the big three of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, while Adam Zampa will head four spins options for the Aussies including Agar, Glenn Maxwell and Head. Veteran opener David Warner will finish his international career following the tournament, while Maxwell, Tim David, Marcus Stoinis and wicketkeeper-batters Matthew Wade and Josh Inglis provide the middle-order options.

Australia 2024 men’s T20 World Cup squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

What are the host venues?

The 2024 men’s T20 World Cup will be the largest in the tournament’s history with 20 teams playing 55 matches across nine cities. It is the first time USA will host matches at a T20 World Cup, with 16 first-round games split between Nassau County International Cricket Stadium (New York), Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium (Dallas) and Broward County Stadium (Lauderhill).

Lauderhill in Florida has hosted international cricket since 2010, including most recently in August last year when West Indies hosted India at the venue for two T20s. Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas was built for Major League Cricket and hosted 12 matches in the inaugural season in 2023. New York will feature a brand-new international cricket venue with a purpose-built 34,000-seat modular stadium constructed 50km east of downtown Manhattan specifically for the World Cup. Eight matches will be played at the venue during the first round of the tournament, including the India-Pakistan blockbuster on June 9 (12.30am, June 10 AEST). The pitches for the new stadium have been curated by Damian Hough and his Adelaide Oval ground staff team.

Six countries (Barbados, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines) will host matches in the Caribbean with Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad and Providence Stadium, Guyana the venues selected for the semi-finals and Kensington Oval, Barbados the final on June 29. The historic Sabina Park in Kingston won’t host any matches during the tournament after the Jamaican government opted against bidding to host games.

Australia will play all their matches in the Caribbean, with the first two against Oman (10.30am, June 6 AEST) and England (3am, June 9 AEST) at Kensington Oval in Barbados. They’ll then face Namibia (10.30am, June 12) at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and Scotland (10.30am, June 16) at Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia. Should they qualify for the Super Eight stage they’ll play their matches in Antigua, Arnos Vale Ground in St Vincent and St Lucia.

What does the winner get?

The ICC are yet to confirm the prizemoney to be carved up for the 2024 T20 World Cup. A cool US$5.6 million (that’s A$8.5m) pot was on offer at the previous tournament hosted by Australia with all participating teams receiving something. England took home a hefty US$1.6m (A$2.5m) for winning the 2022 final at the MCG, while beaten finalists Pakistan received half of that.

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 Viv 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

All dates/times are AEST. For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime