Out of all the 10 ICC full-member nations in the women’s game, Bangladesh is the only side to not feature in a women’s Test match to date.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) launched the inaugural edition of the first-class domestic competition coined as the Bangladesh Women’s Cricket League (BWCL) in March 2023 last year, featuring three teams. It was a two-day tournament in the inaugural edition.
“If we want to play Tests, we need to play first-class matches. If we can play this year and also next year, we will be eligible to play Test matches,” said the head of the BCB women’s wing Habibul Bashar about multi-day first-class games at the domestic level, the need of the hour before they step into the Test arena.
The upcoming 2nd edition of the tournament, scheduled to take place later this month, will feature three-day games instead of two, with an aim to get the players used to playing for an extended period of time with the red ball, unlike the white-ball format. The tournament will be played in the double round-robin format.
“We are trying to start the tournament on or after December 18 and complete the first two rounds by December 30, so that the girls can get some rest as well as some practice time before the West Indies tour,” Habibul Bashar shared about the estimated time of starting the tournament and providing players with adequate rest before their next assignment.
The venues for the tournament aren’t finalised yet, but if the proposed venues aren’t approved then the matches of the tournament will take place at Muktijuddho Sriti Stadium, Rajshahi, and Shaheed Chandu Stadium, Bogura.
The Nigar Sultana Joty-led side is currently hosting Ireland led by skipper Gaby Lewis for a three-match ODI series followed by a three-match T20I series from 27th November to 9th December 2024. Bangladesh completed a dominating whitewash (3-0) in the ODI series and the caravan will now move onto the three-match T20I series from 5th December 2024.
After the conclusion of the ongoing bilateral series against Ireland, Bangladesh will visit the West Indies for a white-ball series that includes a three-match ODI series followed by a three-match T20I series in January next year.
(Quotes sourced from Daily Star)
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