Fixtures for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier 2022 have been announced.
The tournament will take place from 18 to 25 September 2022 in Abu Dhabi, the two venues being – Zayed Cricket Stadium and Tolerance Oval.
The warm-up games will be played on the 16th.
The group games will take place on 18,19,21 September, followed by the playoffs on the 23rd and the final being played at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on the 25th September.
Eight teams have been divided into two groups and the top two teams will book their place in the main event, which will be played in South Africa in February-March 2023.
Group A consists of Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, and USA; Group B will feature Thailand, Zimbabwe, PNG and UAE.
Bangladesh and Thailand made it to the qualifier by the virtue of their MRF Tyres ICC Women’s Team Rankings when they competed in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2020.
In August 2021, Scotland (Europe) became the first team to qualify through the regional qualifier. In the subsequent months, they were joined by Zimbabwe (Africa), UAE (Asia) and USA (America). PNG were the highest ranked side from the East Asia Pacific and qualified as they were not able to hold their regional qualifier due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The final place went to Ireland, who were the highest ranked team from the regional qualifiers but did not win the respective tournament.
Bangladesh will start the tournament as one of the favourites. In the four qualifying events in the past, Bangladesh have qualified three times – twice as winners and once as runner-up.
The 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will be the eighth edition of the tournament, with South Africa set to host the event for the first time.
By virtue of being the hosts, the Proteas have already qualified for the tournament along with Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies.
“This T20 World Cup Qualifier is going to be a fantastic event with eight closely matched teams competing for just two places at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa next year.
The level of competitiveness in the women’s game has increased significantly over the last four years and with every ICC region represented in Abu Dhabi it will be a tough fought event,” ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley said.
Emirates Cricket Development Manager Andrew Russell also expressed his delight on the occasion. “Women’s cricket has never been in better shape both around the world and in the UAE, and it is essential to our Board that we carry forward this momentum.
We aim to do just that through hosting this prestigious event, which we believe can be a vehicle that accelerates the sport’s growth in this country and across our region.”
Source: ICC Cricket