Next year’s T20 World Cup will be held across seven venues in Australia, officials confirmed Tuesday, with Sri Lanka and the West Indies forced to play for a place in the Super 12.

The tournament, which was supposed to be held Down Under in 2020 but was pushed back two years due to coronavirus, will take place between October 16 and November 13. Hosts Australia will be defending champions after hammering New Zealand by eight wickets in Dubai on Sunday.

A total of 45 matches will be contested across Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, with the final under lights at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Sydney and Adelaide will host the semis.

Defending champions Australia and runner-up New Zealand plus Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan and South Africa as the next highest ranked teams will gain direct entry into the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

Namibia, Scotland, Sri Lanka and the West Indies will play in Round 1. The four remaining spots at Australia 2022 will be filled via the ongoing qualification pathway, culminating in two global qualifying tournaments one to take place in Oman in February and the other in Zimbabwe in June/July.

“Following the success of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020 (in Australia) and a two-year postponement, our sights are now firmly set on planning for the 2022 event,” said International Cricket Council head of events Chris Tetley.

With Inputs from AFP and IC Media ZOne