Islamabad
The Women’s Twenty-20 Cricket will be included in the 2022 Commonwealth Games scheduled to take place in England from July 27 to August 7.
Manu Sawhney, Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in a statement, said women’s cricket continued to go from strength to strength, and “we are delighted and honoured the Commonwealth games associations voted to include Women’s T20 cricket at Birmingham 2022.”
Eight teams would compete across eight match days, as cricket returns to the Commonwealth Games for the first time since 1998, when South Africa won gold medal in a men’s 50-over format competition in Kuala Lumpur.
Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer, said cricket’s inclusion in an event with such a large global reach aligns perfectly with our plan to enable more women and girls to be inspired to get involved in cricket. The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games would see 4,500 athletes competing at across 18 sports. The ICC would be responsible for the competition terms and the conduct of cricket, by way of providing match officials and ensuring matches are played as per the laws of the game.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Birmingham 2022 would be responsible for delivery of the Commonwealth Games 2022. CGF President Dame Louise Martin DBE said cricket was last played in the Games at Kuala Lumpur in 1998 when the men’s 50-overs-a-side competition was won by South Africa and featured icons of the sport including Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar.
“We believe the Commonwealth Games will be a fantastic platform to showcase the exciting sport of Women’s T20 Cricket and continue to help grow the game globally,” he said. All eight matches will be held at Edgbaston cricket ground, which played host to a number of memorable matches at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup this summer, including England’s semi-final victory over Australia.—APP
