England will begin the defence of their Women's Cricket World Cup in a day/night match against Australia in Hamilton.

The tournament, due to be held in 2021, was delayed by a year owing to the pandemic with host nation New Zealand, Australia, England, South Africa and India, along with three qualifiers, now competing between 4 March and 3 April 2022.

The eight sides will participate in a round-robin league, with the top four going on to the knockout stages ahead of a final in Christchurch.

England took the title on home soil in 2017 with a nine-run win over India at Lord's.

It will be the first global women's cricket event since the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in March.