Aussies in unknown territory
They gave up a home-ground advantage to lure more fans
AUSTRALIA concedes it has lost a proper home-ground advantage for the good of the sport in tonight’s Twenty20 Women’s World Cup opener against India.
The Australians will play their maiden top-flight match at the Sydney Showground, a venue which has never hosted a men’s or women’s international. Officials remain hopeful of a sellout at the Sydney Showground, where at least half of the seats are expected to be snapped up by those dressed in blue.
But it’s on the pitch Australia has given up a bigger advantage. The Australians have never lost a Twenty20 match at their more traditional home in the harbour city of North Sydney Oval, from nine starts.
Several of their players are also far more familiar with the SCG, as home of the Sydney Sixers. But ICC officials have chosen to go for the mediumsized Showground which holds 18,000 as opposed to 12,000 at North Sydney and 48,000 at the SCG.
“I guess there is a little bit of unknown about this ground so we start on a level pegging with
India in that regard,” Australia captain Meg Lanning said. “But I think for the good of the tournament, create a great atmosphere and get the crowds along it’s a really good move.
“We’ve known about it for a while and have been looking forward to playing out here.
“It’s a great stadium, hopefully the crowd comes and supports because that’s what it’s all about.”
Australia at least played one warm-up at match at the ground last month, against a Cricket Australia XI.
Meanwhile they expect it to be filled with swathes of blue, with some bays already sold out to Indian supporters with a large contingent in Sydney.
“That’s something we’ve spoken about,” Lanning said.
“It’s a great thing for the game. We are expecting big crowd but also a lot of support for India. It’s just something we’ll have to get used to, at the end of the day you’ve just got to focus on what you do in the middle.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur also said her side hoped to have the advantage of a large Indian crowd.
“We all know that Indian fans love cricket, and wherever it is happening, they love to go and watch,” Kaur said.