- Players and fans take part in an afternoon of festivities in the lead up to the Opening Ceremony and game on Friday The Australian and Indian women's national cricket teams were officially welcomed to Sydney, NSW today at the iconic Sydney Opera House ahead of the T20 Women's World Cup 2020 opening match at Sydney Showground Stadium on Friday 21 February. The formalities, hosted by The Hon. Stuart Ayres MLC Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney and The Hon. Bronnie Taylor MLC Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women, showcased a taste of Sydney's unique and diverse spirit and its local culture with a special indigenous performance by Redfern-based Tribal Warrior on arrival and acknowledgement to country by indigenous Australian player, Ashleigh Gardener. T20 World Cup CEO Nick Hockley took to the stage before lawyer and Founder or Women In League, Mary Konstantopoulos, hosted a Q&A with Australian captain Meghann Lanning and Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Both captains were presented with commemorative cricket bats painted by Wollongong indigenous artist Zachary Bennett-Brook. In light of the recent bushfires, 30 junior players from Camden Cricket Club presented each player with an annual koala adoption from Port Stephens Koalas, a gift that helps with the rescue and treatment of sick and injured koalas in the region. Following the formalities, fans young and old got up close and personal with their cricket idols at the T20 Fan Activation on the Sydney Opera House Forecourt for a special player appearance and signing. The T20 Fan Activation and other interactive events will pop-up around the city throughout the T20 Women's World Cup Tournament to celebrate this great national event over the coming weeks. Sydney hosts a total of seven matches during the women's tournament, including: - Friday 21 February: opening match, Australia v India at Sydney Showground Stadium - Sunday 1 March (double header): group matches, South Africa v Pakistan and England v West Indies at Sydney Showground Stadium - Tuesday 3 March (double header): group matches Pakistan v TBC and West Indies v South Africa at Sydney Showground Stadium - Thursday 5 March (double header): semi-final 1 and semi-final 2 at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) Free T20 Fan Activation events taking place include: - Friday 21 February: Pop-up Fan Zone from 4PM at Opening Ceremony and Game at Sydney Showground Stadium - Sunday 23 February: Perryman Square, North Cronulla from 10AM to 2PM - Thursday 27 February: Centenary Plaza, Parramatta from 11AM to 3PM - Sunday 1 March: Sydney Showground Stadium from 12PM to 7:30PM - Wednesday 4 March: First Fleet Park, The Rocks from 11AM to 3PM - Tuesday 3 March: Sydney Showground Stadium from 12PM to 7:30PM - Thursday 5 March: Sydney Cricket Ground from 12PM to 7:30PM More than one million fans are expected to attend the tournament with The Women's T20 World Cup will see 10 teams playing 23 matches from 21 February - 8 March 2020. The Men's T20 World Cup will involve 16 teams playing 45 matches from 18 October - 15 November 2020. The T20 World Cup is truly a family and community event with children's tickets starting at $5 and adult tickets available from $20. Tickets for the highly anticipated series are now on sale at t20worldcup.com for both the women's and men's tournaments. -ENDS- Notes to Editors Australian World Cup team NAME PLAYING # ON SHIRT ROLE Meg Lanning 17 Captain Rachael Haynes 7 Vice captain Erin Burns 92 Nic Carey 16 Ashleigh Gardner 63 Alyssa Healy 77 Wicket keeper Jess Jonassen 21 Delissa Kimmince 26 Sophie Molineux 23 Beth Mooney 6 Wicket keeper Ellyse Perry 8 Megan Schutt 3 Annabel Sutherland 14 Tayla Vlaeminck 30 Georgia Wareham 35 Indian World Cup team NAME PLAYING # ON SHIRT ROLE Harmanpreet Kaur 7 Captain Smriti Mandhana 18 Vice Captain Shafali Verma 17 Jemimah Rodrigues 5 Harleen Deol 98 Deepti Sharma 6 Veda Krishnamurthy 79 Richa Ghosh 13 Taniya Bhatia 28 Wicket Keeper Poonam Yadav 24 Radha Yadav 21 Rajeshwari Gayakwad 1 Shikha Pandey 12 Pooja Vastrakar 11 Arundhati Reddy 20 About artist Zachary Bennett-Brook Zachary Bennett-Brook an award-winning artist, born in Wollongong, NSW in 1990. Being a proud Indigenous man of Torres Strait Islander, he has always been surrounded by the water and been involved with water-based activities. The ocean is ingrained within his cultural heritage and is often represented throughout many of his artworks and designs. Zachary's art has commonly been called unique, providing an eye-catching perspective of contemporary Indigenous culture blended with surf culture, for all to enjoy. The local NSW artist has gained worldwide recognition for his Indigenous artworks all over the world from America to Japan, Canada, England, Spain and throughout Australia. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g7wbh4wi1e2760l/AABJW0PsOZNm-sTCWgJgj7XYa?dl=0 SOURCE: Destination NSW