The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is set to host the final of the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, with Perth and New Zealand expected to stage the two semifinals, according to 9News.
Australia and New Zealand will jointly host the tournament from October 12 to November 12, 2028, with the competition expected to feature 55 matches across eight cities.
The allocation would give Melbourne the tournament’s biggest fixture, while ensuring both co-host nations stage a semifinal. However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has yet to formally announce the host cities.
Perth emerges as key semifinal venue
Perth’s Optus Stadium is in line to stage one of the semifinals, placing Western Australia at the centre of the tournament’s knockout schedule.
The city’s time zone could offer a broadcasting advantage for matches targeting Indian television audiences, particularly if India reaches the last four.
The other semifinal is expected to take place in New Zealand, although its venue remains undecided. Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington are among the potential host cities.
This would represent a change from Australia’s previous hosting of the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2022, when Sydney Cricket Ground and Adelaide Oval staged the semifinals.
Neither Sydney nor Adelaide is currently expected to host a knockout fixture in 2028, despite both cities being among the prospective tournament locations.
Melbourne Cricket Ground poised for another ICC final
The MCG has a long history of hosting major international cricket finals and can accommodate approximately 100,000 spectators.
It staged the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup final, in which England defeated Pakistan, and previously hosted the Men’s ODI World Cup finals in 1992 and 2015.
The stadium was also the venue for the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup final.
The 2028 final would be the second Men’s T20 World Cup final staged at the MCG, adding another global championship fixture to the ground’s international cricket calendar.
Eight cities expected to stage the tournament
The proposed hosting arrangement would divide matches between five Australian cities and three in New Zealand.
Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane are expected to form Australia’s hosting contingent, while Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington are the leading New Zealand candidates.
ICC introduces new Super 10 format for 2028
Alongside preparations for the tournament, the ICC has approved changes to the Men’s T20 World Cup competition structure following its Annual General Meeting in Edinburgh.
The 2028 edition will retain 20 participating teams but replace the existing Super Eight phase with a Super 10 stage and introduce two additional knockout fixtures.
Under the revised system, the opening round will consist of five groups of four teams, replacing the previous arrangement of four groups containing five teams each.
The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super 10, where the 10 qualifiers will be divided into two groups of five.
Each team will play the other four sides in its Super 10 group, with the group winners advancing directly to the semifinals.
The remaining two semifinal places will be decided through cross-group eliminators. The second-placed team in each Super 10 group will face the third-placed team from the opposite group, with the winners progressing to the last four.
The changes will reduce the number of opening-round fixtures from 40 to 30, while increasing second-stage matches from 12 to 20. The two new eliminators will bring the overall tournament total to 55 matches, unchanged from the previous format.
The next step in the tournament’s preparations will be the ICC’s formal announcement of the host cities and match allocations, including confirmation of which New Zealand venue will stage the second semifinal.
