England will be out to end a 15-year drought at the T20 World Cup but defending champions Australia once again remain the team to beat.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the ninth staging of the event, which gets under way with a clash between nominal hosts Bangladesh and Scotland on Thursday.
Who are the hosts?
Bangladesh were originally slated to stage the tournament for a second time, having first done so in 2014.
But recent political unrest in the country led to the International Cricket Council relocating its event to the United Arab Emirates, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board keeping hosting rights.
What is the format?
There is little margin for error in this 10-team tournament comprising just 23 matches in 18 days this month – 12 games, including the final on October 20, will be held in Dubai, with the other 11 in Sharjah.
There are two groups of five, where teams play each other once and the top two advance to the semi-finals.
Can England go all the way?
Semi-finalists in South Africa last year, England are on a roll having won all eight T20s this summer, while Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone will spearhead their bid for a first title since 2009.
It is difficult to look past six-time champions Australia, who are targeting a fourth straight crown, but a silver lining for England is they won the T20 portion of last year’s Ashes series 2-1.
What is expected of Scotland?
Having sealed a place at a World Cup first time in their history, Scotland will attempt to upset the odds and win one of their Group B matches against Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England and South Africa.
Kathryn Bryce, the player of the tournament in the Charlotte Edwards Cup this year, and sister Sarah will be captain and vice-captain, while they will have several all-rounders to choose from.
Who are the ones to watch?
Ashleigh Gardner (Australia) Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Jemimah Rodrigues (India), Abtaha Maqsood (Scotland), Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Hayley Matthews (West Indies).
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here