Geelong to open cricket World Cup

Geelong cricket fans will see the first ball of this year’s T20 cricket World Cup bowled in their backyard.

The sport’s governing body, the International Cricket Council, released the tournament schedule at Geelong today, which placed six games in three days at Kardinia Park in October.

“Kardinia Park has a proud history of cricket and we look forward to welcoming the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2022, alongside passionate fans cheering on their country,” Kardinia Park Stadium Trust CEO Gerard Griffin said.

The stadium will host a round robin qualifying round to kick off the tournament, starting with the opener between 2014 champions Sri Lanka and Namibia.

Two further countries will head to Geelong for the opening round following a global qualifier to be played in Oman next month.

Ireland, Nepal and Canada are among the nations vying for final spots in the tournament draw.

Kardinia Park will host double-headers on October 16, 18 and 20 to lead-off the World Cup, alongside a concurrent play-in at Hobart.

The top two teams from the Geelong group will join the big boys divided in two pools of six to decide semi-final places.

Meanwhile, Australia kicks off its title defence on October 22 against New Zealand in Sydney.

The current world champions’ only guaranteed fixture in Victoria is against England at the MCG on October 28, but it could return for the November 13 final if it qualifies.