Seven host cities announced for 2022 T20 World Cup, MCG to host final

Seven cities will play host to the 2022 men's T20 World Cup in Australia with the semi-finals to be held in Sydney and Adelaide ahead of the final at the MCG under lights on November 13.

The ICC announced on Tuesday that the 45 matches of the tournament will also be played in Perth, Brisbane, Geelong and Hobart for the 2022 event that begins on October 16, just 335 days after the 2021 World Cup was won by Australia in Dubai on Sunday.

The Test squad members of the victorious Australia side arrived home on Tuesday morning to little fanfare in Brisbane having travelled on the same flight as the rest of England's Ashes squad that had been involved in England's T20 campaign. Both sides will head straight into 14 days of hotel quarantine on the Gold Coast but will be allowed to train under strict biosecure protocols.

Meanwhile, plans are already ramping up for next year's event with Australia set to defend their title at home. The Adelaide Oval will host a semi-final at a global event for the first time, on November 10. The SCG, which will host the other semi-final on November 9, has hosted semi-finals for the 1992 and 2015 men's 50-over World Cups and both semi-finals for the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup.

The Adelaide Oval hosted a quarter-final in 2015 but the other semi-final was at Eden Park in Auckland in both 1992 and 2015.

Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, England, South Africa, India, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have already qualified for the 2022 Super 12s stage of the tournament. Sri Lanka, West Indies, Namibia and Scotland have qualified for the first round of the event but will need to win their way through to the Super 12 stage against four other qualifiers.