The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is underway with 20 teams currently playing group matches across Sri Lanka and India.

Led by captain Mitchell Marsh, Australia begins its quest for a second T20 World Cup trophy on Wednesday night (Australian time) against Group B opponents Ireland in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The Aussies will start strong favourites but in T20 cricket no team can be taken lightly.

The Sporting News provides all the details to follow Australia’s all-important opening match.

Australia vs. Ireland venue, start time

Australia faces Ireland at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Wednesday, February 11.

The first ball is set to be bowled at 3:00 p.m. local time.

Here’s how that time translates across Australia:

 DateStart timeAEDTWeds. Feb 118:30 PMAESTWeds. Feb 117:30 PMACDTWeds. Feb 118:00 PMAWSTWeds. Feb 115:30 PMAustralia vs Ireland live stream, TV channel in Australia

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is not available for live free-to-air broadcast in Australia.

All matches including Australia vs. Ireland will be shown live in Australia on the Amazon Prime Video app and website.

New users of Amazon Prime Video can currently sign up for a FREE 30-day trial.

Australia match schedule for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026

Australia has been drawn in Group B and will face co-hosts Sri Lanka together with Ireland, Zimbabwe and Oman in the group stages of the tournament. 

All four of Australia’s group matches will be played in Sri Lanka. 

Date

Opponent

Venue

Time (AEDT)

Result

Wednesday, 11 February

Ireland

R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka

8.30pm

 

Friday, 13 February

Zimbabwe

R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka

4.30pm

 

Tuesday, 17 February

Sri Lanka

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka

12.30am

 

Saturday, 21 February

Oman

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka

12.30am

 

The Super 8 round begins on February 22 with the Semi Finals to be played on 5 and 6 March.

The 2026 T20 World Cup Final will be played on Sunday 9 March with Ahmedabad in India set to be the host city, although Colombo has been listed as an alternative venue if required.

Australian squad for ICC Men’ s T20 World Cup 2026Mitchell Marsh (c)Xavier BartlettCooper ConnollyPat CumminsTim DavidBen DwarshuisCameron GreenNathan EllisJosh HazlewoodTravis HeadJosh Inglis (wk)Matthew KuhnemannGlenn MaxwellMatthew RenshawMatthew ShortMarcus StoinisAdam ZampaSean Abbott