Temperatures could hit 40C for Australia’s opening T20 World Cup clash in Sharjah

Heat protocols developed by the Australian Olympic Committee have played a key role in Australia’s preparation for snaring a historic fourth-straight T20 World Cup, with temperatures to hit 40C during their opening match against Sri Lanka in Sharjah.

The Australians will play four group matches across eight days in both Sharjah and Dubai, having done sauna sessions during a three-game series against New Zealand in Mackay to try to get used to the stifling heat.

Australia’s opening game will be played at 2pm, local time, on Saturday afternoon in Sharjah, and such is the hectic lead-in, the players won’t get a training session on the ground before their match.

That has put a premium on using two warm-up games – wins over England and the West Indies – to get used to playing in conditions few in the Australian squad have experienced, with the national team never having played a series in the UAE.

Two afternoon training sessions to get used to daytime heat will also play an important role in getting the defending champs ready, with protocols around recovery and hydration set to be key components of the tournament.

“It’s been nice to be able to get out and play some games and obviously the warm-up games and experience the conditions here and get it a bit more acclimatised,” coach Shelley Nitschke said on the eve of game one, with injury clouds still hanging over both Phoebe Litchfield and slugger Grace Harris.

“I think things are starting to take shape now.

“We’ve had a few little niggles like Phoebes (Litchfield) as well missing the practice games, but there’s some conversations around it’s sort of starting to take shape and we hopefully find out over the next couple of days.”

Working on communication under new captain Alyssa Healy has also been a key component of the preparation for a tournament the Australians are favoured to win despite increased expectations for the chasing pack of countries including India.

“It’s really important,” Nitschke said

“I think all those little things about communicating and adapting really quickly are going to be critical.

“So it’s sort of something we’ve spoken about a lot and making sure that we’ve been doing it through the practice games because we know that come the round games that’s going to be really important for us, and I think the team that adapts quickly and gets the conditions is going to put themselves in a really good position.

“Everyone’s really excited. We haven’t had a series since April, so the World Cup has been our next thing for a while.

“Obviously, we had the three games against New Zealand before we came over, but I think there’s been a lot of anticipation and lead-up to it and I think people are pretty keen now just to start the tournament and get into it and get some momentum.”

Australia’s Group A fixtures

October 5: v Sri Lanka, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 8pm AEST

October 8: v New Zealand, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 9 AEDT

October 11: v Pakistan, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 12 AEDT

October 13: v India, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 14 AEDT