ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announced

• Reigning champions West Indies begin their campaign against England on 23 October
• Short video interviews of team captains, graphics of schedules for each team available on theOnline Media Zonefor free editorial use

Defending champions, the West Indies, will take on England in their first game of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at the Dubai International Stadium on 23 October, it was confirmed today as the ICC unveiled the complete schedule of the 16-team event.

The West Indies will look to get the defence of their title off to a winning start in what will be a re-run of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2016 final at Eden Gardens, which saw them snatch the title from England thanks to Carlos Brathwaite’s four consecutive sixes in the last over.

South Africa and Australia join West Indies and England in Group 1 of the Super 12s along with two yet-to-be-determined qualifiers from Round 1 for this year's ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The West Indies will also play South Africa on 26 October at the Dubai International Stadium followed by playing the winners of the qualifying round 1 on 29 October and 4 November. West Indies will also play Australia on 6 November at the Abu Dhabi International stadium.

Sri Lanka, champions in 2014, and Bangladesh, Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands Oman, PNG and Scotland, feature in Round 1 of the 16-team tournament, being hosted by India in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman through to 14 November.

Abu Dhabi will be the venue of the first semi-final on 10 November while the other semi-final (11 November) and the final (14 November) will be played in Dubai. All day matches are scheduled for 14h00 local time and the day-night matches are slated for 18h00 local time (+4 GMT).

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said:“We are excited to begin defence of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title later this year.”“T20 cricket is dynamic, and the international scene is highly competitive, with players constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation and we are expecting a spectacular event in the UAE and Oman.

“We have particularly interesting Super 12 group, which sees us come up against Australia, England and South Africa. We can’t wait to get started!”

“West Indian cricketers have always played an exciting brand of cricket and I am sure our fans in the Caribbean and all over the world are highly anticipating seeing us in action”.

England Captain, Eoin Morgan said:“The ICC World T20 is going to be brilliant. The standard of T20 cricket around the world is improving exponentially and every nation has a chance of becoming World Champions. It should be one of the closest and most competitive world tournaments to date and we can’t wait to get started.”

South Africa Captain Temba Bavuma said:“The 2021 ICC T20 World Cup is of vital importance to the Proteas and South Africa as a nation. Not only is the T20 format a key part of Cricket South Africa’s strategy to introduce new fans to the game of cricket, but this tournament will also be the first of three opportunities for us to claim our first-ever ICC World Cup trophy.”

“The group that we are in is an exciting one and we’re looking forward to facing off with everyone in it as we go about our mission to reach the final and the ultimate championship. We have an exciting team that we are building with a lot of raw talent, coupled with the experienced hands that will guide and lead the youngsters.”

“We have spent the greater part of the year preparing for this contest and I look forward to leading our country in my first world showpiece as captain.”

Australian wicketkeeper and batter Alex Carey said:“I think the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is really exciting! We have waited an extra twelve months for this one and to have it now in the schedule and see the draw that Australia has got is truly exciting.”

“Anytime we get to play against England is exciting, we know how dominant they have been in the white ball format over the last few years. Coming up against the West Indies recently, we know how tough that can also be. So, we are really looking forward to this tournament.”

The groupings:

Round 1

***Group A:Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands, and NamibiaGroup B:***Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, and Oman

(Top two teams from each group advance to Super 12s)

Super 12s

***Group 1:****England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1 and B2.****Group 2:***India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, A2 and B1.

(Top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals)

Complete schedule:

Round 1

***17 Oct:****Oman v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14h00); Bangladesh v Scotland, Muscat (18h00)****18 Oct:****Ireland v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Sri Lanka v Namibia, Abu Dhabi (18h00)****19 Oct:****Scotland v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14h00); Oman v Bangladesh, Muscat (18h00)****20 Oct:****Namibia v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Sri Lanka v Ireland, Abu Dhabi (18h00)****21 Oct:****Bangladesh v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14h00); Oman v Scotland, Muscat (18h00)****22 Oct:***Namibia v Ireland, Sharjah (14h00); Sri Lanka v Netherlands, Sharjah (18h00)

Super 12

***23 Oct:****Australia v South Africa, Abu Dhabi (14h00);*England v West Indies, Dubai (18h00) ***24 Oct:****A1 v B2, Sharjah (14h00); India v Pakistan, Dubai (18h00)****25 Oct:****Afghanistan v B1, Sharjah (18h00)*26 Oct: ***South Africa v West Indies, Dubai (14h00);****Pakistan v New Zealand, Sharjah (18h00)****27 Oct:****England v B2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); B1 v A2, Abu Dhabi (18h00)****28 Oct:****Australia v A1, Dubai (18h00)*29 Oct: ***West Indies v B2, Sharjah (14h00);****Pakistan v Afghanistan, Dubai (18h00)****30 Oct:****South Africa v A1, Sharjah (14h00); Australia v England, Dubai (18h00)****31 Oct:****Afghanistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); India v New Zealand, Dubai (18h00)****1 Nov:****England v A1, Sharjah (18h00)****2 Nov:****South Africa v B2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Pakistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (18h00)****3 Nov:****New Zealand v B1, Dubai (14h00); India v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (18h00)****4 Nov:****Australia v B2, Dubai (14h00);*West indies v A1, Abu Dhabi (18h00) ***5 Nov:****New Zealand v A2, Sharjah (14h00); India v B1, Dubai (18h00)*6 Nov: ***Australia v West Indies, Abu Dhabi (14h00);****England v South Africa, Sharjah (18h00)****7 Nov:****New Zealand v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (14h00): Pakistan v B1, Sharjah (18h00)****8 Nov:****India v A2 , Dubai (18h00)****10 Nov:****Semi-final 1 (A1 v B2), Abu Dhabi (18h00)****11 Nov:****Semi-final 2 (B1 v A2), Dubai (18h00)****14 Nov:***Final, Dubai (18h00)

About the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021

• The seventh edition of the tournament comprises 16 teams and is being hosted by India in the United Arab Emirates and Oman
• The tournament is being played at four venues – Dubai International Stadium, Oman Cricket Academy (Muscat), Sharjah Cricket Stadium and Zayed Cricket Stadium (Abu Dhabi)
• Hosts India and nine other top teams in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings as of 31 December 2018 got direct entries
• The top eight were placed directly in the Super 12s and the next two – Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - joined six other teams coming through a Qualifier event in the group stage
• Two teams each from the group stage, consisting of four teams each, will join the eight direct entrants to complete the Super 12s line-up.
• The top two teams from each group of the Super 12s will make the knockouts, the matchups being - A1 v B2 and B2 v A1