Joty 'more tensed than excited’ as WT20 WC fixtures revealed

Hosts Bangladesh are set to open their ICC Women's Twenty20 World Cup campaign against the runners-up team from the qualifiers on October 3 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur after England take on South Africa in the tournament opener at the same venue.

The International Cricket Council announced the fixtures on Sunday. The event will run from October 3 to 20 in the capital Dhaka and the northeastern city of Sylhet, with warm-up matches starting on September 27.

Hosts Bangladesh and the top six teams from the previous edition in South Africa -- Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies -- qualified automatically for the tournament, with Pakistan joining them as the next best-ranked team.

It will be the ninth edition of the tournament, with Bangladesh previously hosting in 2014. Bangladesh, who will be playing in their sixth T20 World Cup, will be hoping to make their records look a bit better as the hosts boast only one win in the competition so far which also came back when they won against Sri Lanka the last time the country hosted the competition.

"Except for in the 2014 edition, we have not been able to win a game in any other editions of the tournament that we played. So, our first focus will be to win matches," said Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty following the groups and fixture unveiling program of the T20 World Cup in the capital yesterday.

"More than excitement, there's a sort of tension in me as we will be playing in front of our home crowd. Everyone will want we do better. And, we are going through a bit of tough time now, so, some sort of doubts and hesitance might rear heads. But still, I'd say, the way this team is preparing, and the time we have left to prepare, I think we can go into the tournament with good preparation," Joty added.

Ireland, the UAE, Sri Lanka and Scotland are in contention for the remaining two places, with the semifinals of the qualifying tournament being held in the UAE.

Six-times winners and current world number one Australia will play in Group A alongside India, New Zealand, Pakistan and a Qualifier 1.

Neighbours and rivals India and Pakistan will face off on October 6.

Group B will feature South Africa, Bangladesh, England, West Indies, and Qualifier 2.

Each side will play four group matches at the tournament, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the cut-throat semifinals on 17 and 18 October ahead of the final in Dhaka on 20 October.

In total, there will be 23 matches played across 19 days in Dhaka and Sylhet, with reserve days in place for both semifinals and the final should they be required.

"Over the last six to seven years we have seen women's cricket grow exponentially," ICC chief executive officer Geoff Allardice said at the announcement of the fixture list and trophy unveiling in Dhaka.

"This is going to be a very special tournament," he added.
HIGHLIGHTS
Group A: Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Qualifier 1

Group B: South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Qualifier 2

Bangladesh's group fixtures:
October 3: Bangladesh v Qualifier 2, Mirpur
October 5: Bangladesh v England, Mirpur
October 9: Bangladesh v West Indies, Mirpur
October 12: Bangladesh v South Africa, Mirpur

Cities to host: Dhaka, Sylhet
Opening fixture: England v South Africa on October 3 in Mirpur
Final: On October 20 in Mirpur