COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CMC):

West Indies will face Australia twice today in the semi-finals of both men's and women's competitions of the ICC World T20 2012.

This is the first time both West Indies teams have qualified for the Final Four in the same tournament.

Back in 2009 in England the West Indies men reached the semis but the women did not advance.

A year later in the Caribbean the women reached the semis but the men went out in the second round.

"This is huge," declared Captain Darren Sammy.

"We have two more hurdles to jump and I know we have the team to do it."

West Indies men reached the semis after finishing second in Super Eights Group 1 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

They beat England by 15 runs; lost to Sri Lanka by 9 wickets; and they won the One-Over Eliminator against New Zealand after the match ended in a thrilling tie.

"When we left home in September the plan was to be here in October. It's now October and we are still here, so that means we are at the business end ... we mean business," Sammy said.

"We will take it stage by stage. We have worked hard to reach this point and with good planning and execution there's no reason why we can't go all the way."

West Indies women topped Group B with two wins and one defeat in matches played at the Galle International Stadium.

They thumped New Zealand by 7 wickets and hammered South Africa by 10 wickets. In between they suffered a shock defeat by 5 runs (D/L Method) against Sri Lanka.

"We are delighted to have reached this stage for the second World T20 tournament in a row. We are feeling quite confident at this stage and believe we can beat the Australians," said Captain Merissa Aguilleira, who has been at the helm for three years.

"They are the defending champions but we know we have the players who can win this match and take it all the way. This is what we came here for this is why we play to be the very best you have to beat the very best and go all the way."

Both semi-finals will be played at the R Premadasa Stadium and will be broadcast "live" on television.

The women's match will be at 2:30 p.m. (5 a.m. Eastern Caribbean Time/4 a.m. Jamaica Time) while the men's match will be at the same venue under lights at 7 p.m. (9:30 a.m. Eastern Caribbean Time/8:30 a.m. Jamaica Time).

The other semi-finals will be played today, also at the Premadasa.

In the women England face New Zealand; while in the men Sri Lanka meet Pakistan.

... Windies men, women prepare to battle Aussies in World Cup semis