Australian women’s cricket captain Jodie Fields says her team has had an ideal preparation as they seek to defend their World Twenty20 title.

The Southern Stars departed for the limited overs tournament in Sri Lanka on Thursday and Fields said her team has a difficult assignment in defending their crown in the showpiece event of the women’s game.

Australia, India, England and Pakistan will face off in Group A while New Zealand, South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka make up Group B in the competition’s fourth year.

The Southern Stars are hoping to be the first team to win back-to-back titles, and Fields said they would face their greatest competition within their draw.

“Everyone’s going to be tough competition – it’s the top eight teams in the world,” she told AAP.

“Honestly, the top teams to beat will be India, England and New Zealand, and we’ll have to work hard to beat teams like that.”

The ICC Women’s World Twenty20 will be played alongside the men’s tournament, with pool matches taking place in Galle and the semi-final and final being played as double-headers with the men’s tournament in Colombo.

“Everyone’s pretty excited,” Fields said.

“We’ve been training hard for this for a couple of years now and the last couple of months have flown, so I think we’re prepared.”

The team spent two weeks in Sri Lanka in August training and acclimatising to the conditions to ensure they’d be prepared once competition got underway.

“That’s been the most valuable training we’ve had, training in the hot, humid conditions and getting used to that’s been great,” Fields said.

“Everyone’s healthy and fit and now we’re just raring to go.”

Australia will play their first group match against India on September 27, with the semi-finals being played on October 4 and 5 and the final on October 7.