THE venues for the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand have been revealed, with the final of the prestigious ODI tournament to be held under lights at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval.

The tournament will kick off with an opening weekend at Auckland’s Eden Park, while matches will also be played in Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga and Dunedin.

The semi-finals will be held at Tauranga’s Bay Oval and Hamilton’s Seddon Park, while newly installed lights at Hagley Oval will ensure the decider can be held as a day-night blockbuster.

In all, the 2021 ODI World Cup will feature 31 matches between February 6 and March 7 next year.

Australia captain Meg Lanning would no doubt relish a return to Bay Oval, a venue where she has struck three of her 13 ODI centuries.

Australia last toured New Zealand in early 2017, a campaign that saw them play at Bay Oval and Eden Park’s outer oval, while they also played three ODIs at the Tauranga venue in 2016 alongside two T20Is at Wellington’s Basin Reserve.

The remaining venues will largely present an unknown to the Australians, if scheduled to play there. Ellyse Perry is the only current squad member to have played at Seddon Park, while none of the current group has played at Dunedin’s University Oval or Eden Park proper.

The complete draw will be revealed in March.

While Australia’s thoughts are currently firmly on the upcoming T20 World Cup, to be played on home soil from February 21 and culminating in the final at the MCG on March 8, the 2021 ODI World Cup is another tournament they will be desperate to succeed in after a disappointing campaign in the UK in 2017.

After heading into that event as red-hot favourites, they were bundled out of the tournament in a shock semi-final loss to India, while hosts England went on to win the final at Lord’s.

“Our goal was to ensure all 31 matches will be played at the best venues, encompassing a geographic spread that ensured as many Kiwi sports fans as possible get to engage with the tournament,” ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup CEO Andrea Nelson said.

“It was great to see the enthusiasm from so many cities bidding for a chance to welcome the best players in the world to their backyard.”

Currently, only Australia, New Zealand and defending champions England have qualified for the eight-team tournament.

New Zealand qualify as hosts, while Australia and England’s strong performances across the current edition of the ICC Women’s ODI Championship – a three-year, round-robin competition to determine the four teams who automatically qualify alongside the host nation – have secured their spots.

Two of Pakistan, South Africa, India, West Indies and Sri Lanka will join them following the final round of the Championship, while the remaining two spots will be decided at the World Cup qualifiers in Sri Lanka later this year.