ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024: The venues

The 23 matches at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 will be shared between two venues as 10 teams converge in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to compete for the trophy.

The tournament will get underway at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, a regular on the international cricket circuit, on 3 October.

Then it’s the turn of the Dubai International Stadium (DIS) to take centre stage the following day, with the ground also hosting the Final on 20 October.

Here, we take a closer look at the two venues and some of the standout matches that have been played at both.

Dubai International Stadium

Dubai International Stadium is the newer of the two venues being used, with the 25,000-capacity stadium first opening in 2009.

The first international to take place at the ground was Pakistan’s ODI against Australia in April of that year, with Shahid Afridi starring in that series and the T20 series that followed.

Its first women’s ODI was Pakistan vs West Indies in February 2019 and DIS hosted its first women’s T20 international in September 2023 when UAE hosted Namibia.

For the 2021 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, DIS played host to 13 matches, including the final when Australia claimed their first-ever title by defeating New Zealand by eight wickets.

Pakistan’s 10-wicket victory over India in the Super 12 also took place there while West Indies’ 55 all out against England was the lowest total by a Full Member team in a Men’s T20 World Cup match.

Dubai International Stadium will host 12 matches in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, including the final on 20 October. Its first matches will be on 4 October, with 2023 finalists, South Africa taking on 2016 champions West Indies before India take on New Zealand.

Other standout matches at the venue include India’s clash against Pakistan in Group A and the final match in Group B between England, inaugural champions in 2009, and the West Indies.

Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Since it opened in 1982, Sharjah Cricket Stadium has hosted over 200 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), the first of which being Pakistan vs Sri Lanka in April 1984.

The ground has become such a favourite of the international circuit that it entered the Guinness Book of World Records just over a decade ago for having hosted more ODIs than any other. Capable of holding 16,000, it has specifically become a popular venue for South Asian sides, with the vast crowds being made up of the many expats in the area.

The first women’s ODI to take place there was on 9 January 2015 when Pakistan hosted Sri Lanka, with the two sides contesting the first-ever women’s T20 international at the ground six days later.

Sharjah Cricket Stadium was one of four venues during the 2021 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and hosted 11 group-stage matches, including a narrow victory for South Africa over England.

The West Stand was renamed the Sachin Tendulkar Stand in honour of the India batting legend’s 50th birthday in 2023, with the venue memorably being where he struck 134 off 131 balls when India chased down 273 to defeat Australia in the 1998 Coca-Cola Cup final.

The ground will host 11 matches during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, including the opening double-header matches, Bangladesh vs Scotland and Pakistan vs Sri Lanka on 3 October. It will also host the second semi-final on 18 October, with other standout matches including the Group A clash between India and Australia and England’s Group B meeting with South Africa.

Note to Editors: This is one of the captains’ columns that we are providing for free editorial use along with other preview pieces ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. As in past women’s global events, you will also find match reports, features, photographs, media conference videos and their transcripts, stats packs and a complete media guide in the ICC Online Media Zone to help with coverage of the tournament. For access, please write to media@icc-cricket.com.