Australia’s T20 title defence to begin with sold-out game against New Zealand

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will begin on Sunday with Sri Lanka vs Namibia and UAE vs Netherlands, will see hosts Australia defend its title against New Zealand in front of a sell-out crowd. 

Australia will face New Zealand on October 22 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) (pictured). 

Over 600,000 tickets have been snapped up by fans to watch the first ever ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be played in Australia. 

India vs Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23 will also be played in front of a full house, after additional standing room tickets were released due to popular demand for the game. The extra tickets sold out in 10 minutes. 

With the tournament so close, an official T20 World Cup re-sale platform has been launched for fans to buy and sell tickets at face value. 

Current ticket allocations are also sold out for the double-header featuring South Africa vs Bangladesh and India vs Group A runner-up on October 27, at the SCG. There are also a limited number of tickets remaining for the opening match-day of the event featuring Sri Lanka and Namibia in Geelong. 

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup chief executive Michelle Enright said: “The T20 World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and we’re delighted that we’re set to see big crowds for both the opening match of the event in Geelong this Sunday and the first weekend of the Super 12 stage in a week’s time. 

“It’s going to be fantastic to see full stadiums for cricket in October and a great way for fans to celebrate the first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.

“No matter if you support Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, or any other team, there are still some great seats available at matches right across the seven host cities, so I’d encourage everyone who hasn’t secured their tickets to jump on board for what will be an unmissable event.”