By Luke Voogt
Kardinia Park will host six group matches in the ICC World T20 in 2020, when the tournament comes to Australia for the first time.
Cricket Australia on Tuesday announced Geelong would be an official host for the international championship, which will run during October and November 2020.
Kardinia Park Stadium Trust chief executive officer Michael Brown welcomed the announcement.
“Kardinia Park is the best regional stadium in Australia and we are thrilled to once again showcase Geelong and Kardinia Park Stadium to the world,” he said.
“We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the State Government of Victoria, Visit Victoria and the City of Greater Geelong in securing this amazing event.”
Major Events Minister John Eren and Geelong MP Christine Couzens joined International Cricket Council and Cricket Australia representatives to launch the tournament at the MCG on Tuesday.
The Victorian Government described the announcement as a sporting coup for Geelong and said the matches would bring thousands of new visitors to the city, boosting the local economy.
Geelong hosted its first Big Bash League game last month, when the Melbourne Renegades played the Sydney Sixers.
The men’s and women’s matches saw more than 23,500 fans flock to the stadium.
Australia played Sri Lanka at the stadium in the city’s first T20 international in February, 2017, drawing 13,537 fans.
