Clarke, Blackwell urge fans to rally behind hosts Australia in T20 World Cup  

Former Australia captains Michael Clarke and Alex Blackwell have urged fans to rally behind hosts Australia ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 that begins on Friday (February 21). Clarke who led the men’s team to their 50-over title triumph on home soil in 2015 said the pressure of playing at home will be outweighed by the advantage of having home crowd support.

“I think it’s great for women’s cricket that there’s been so much publicity and promotion. If there’s one team in the world, certainly in this country, that deserves the credit and deserves the publicity it’s the Australian women’s cricket team,” said Clarke, member of two World Cup-winning (2007 & 2015) teams.

“In 2015, we embraced the pressure. There is a bit more expectation and you are a bit busy with things outside of cricket, but that can help take your mind off the game,” added Clarke who retired from the game in 2015. 

Blackwell, who is a three-time T20 World Cup champion said the build-up to the 2020 event was like nothing she’s seen before. “There’s a huge amount of momentum leading into this tournament, cricketing greats on the side of buses, there are ads on TV, the social media’s gone mad - it's unbelievable! We should be excited because some of the best cricketers the game’s ever seen will take part,” Blackwell said.

The two legendary figures gave a team of young girls from the St Ives Junior Cricket Club an experience to remember as they took the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 Trophy to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Tuesday (February 18).