Longstanding rivals Australia and India will be taking on each other for the opening game of the much-anticipated women’s T20I event to be held at the next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the ICC confirmed on November 12.
Women’s cricket will be making its debut at the CWG games in an eight-team T20I competition, which will span just over a week and will be held at the Test ground in Edgbaston. The tournament kicks-off with the repeat of the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup final on July 29 and runs till August 7 when the gold medal game is scheduled.
Apart from India and Australia, Pakistan, Barbados, South Africa, England, New Zealand and an additional qualifier are the other sides set to take part in the first-of-its-kind women’s T20I tournament. While the major full members made it to the event on the basis of the rankings as on April 1 2020, Barbados qualified as the winners from the Caribbean T20 event back in 2020 (since the 2021 edition had to be postponed). The other qualifying team will be determined by a global qualifier, which will be held in early 2022.
India, Australia, Pakistan and Barbados are part of Group A, while South Africa, hosts England, New Zealand and the yet not determined qualifying team will be part of Group B.
In a short and sharp competition, two teams from each group will make it through to the semis, and the winners of that will contest the final for the gold medal. The losing finalist will be awarded the silver medal, while the losing semi-finalists will face up for the bronze medal on the the day of gold medal fixture.
The tournament will follow a doubleheader format, where Pakistan will take on Barbados on the same day that India take on Australia. The next set of Group A fixtures will be played on July 31, when an India-Pakistan clash is scheduled along with an Australia versus Barbados game. India will finish off their group matches with a fixture against Barbados on August 3 when Australia will be taking on Pakistan.
In Group B, hosts England will be opening their campaign with a game against the qualifying side on July 30 when earlier on, New Zealand will play South Africa. The SA will then clash with the hosts, while the White Ferns face the qualifying side on August 2. The group games will be over on August 4 when South Africa play the qualifying side and England play New Zealand.
Both the semi-finals are scheduled for August 6. The final – as well as the bronze medal game between losing semi-finalists – will be held the next day.
This will only be the second occasion that a cricket competition is held in the CWG games. The last time the quadrennial event featured cricket back in 1998 when a men’s 50-over tournament was held in Malaysia and was won by South Africa.
“We have seen tremendous growth of the women’s game over the past few years and the Commonwealth Games will undoubtedly be another major moment on that journey,”
“Today’s announcement of the match schedule gives fans lots to look forward to, not least with the opening game between ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 finalists Australia and India and we know that Edgbaston will provide a great stage for the competition.”
Geoff Allardice, the acting ICC chief executive said in a media release.
The reinclusion of cricket in CWG is part of ICC’s wider plan to popularise and raise the profile of women’s cricket across the world, with the thrill-a-minute T20 format identified as the vehicle to spread the game globally.
