Australia to face Pakistan, India and New Zealand in group stage of Women’s World T20

AUSTRALIA will face Pakistan, India and arch-rivals New Zealand in the group stages of the Women’s World T20 in November.

The International Cricket Council has released the schedule for the event, to be hosted by the West Indies, later this year with 10 teams to compete.

Australia, beaten finalists in 2016, will kick off its campaign in Group B against Pakistan on November 9 at Guyana National Stadium before clashes with a qualifier, New Zealand and India.

Reigning champions West Indies, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka and a qualifier are in Group A.

Eight nations - Bangladesh, Ireland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand, Uganda and the UAE - are fighting for the two qualification places.

Captain Meg Lanning said Australia was looking to avenge its loss in 2016 and make up for a disappointing World Cup in 2017.

“It’s the next big tournament on the horizon and we have a good chance to nail down our T20 gameplan and focus,” she said.

“The group is always looking forward to World Cups and this time around is no different. The World Cup last year did not go as well as we would have liked to, so we are very hungry to become world champions again.

“We know it is a very open competition and you need to be consistent and be brave with how you play but we are in a very good space to go down that path and see that when the time comes we are playing really good cricket.”