It’s a double Women’s World Cup year, and the first is just around the corner—the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup, set to take place in Malaysia from January 18 to February 2, 2025. While 11 + 1 of the 16 teams secured direct qualification, the remaining teams fought for their spots through regional competitions.
Malaysia, as hosts, secured a spot for their first-ever World Cup appearance. They are joined by the top 10 full-member nations from the inaugural tournament in 2023, where India will have the opportunity to defend their title, England will aim to go one better, and Australia and New Zealand will look to progress beyond the semifinals.
Bangladesh, South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Ireland, who also advanced to the Super Six stage in 2023, round out the group of 11 teams that earned direct qualification for the 2025 Women’s U19 T20 World Cup. The United States of America also earned direct qualification, as they were the only nation in the Americas region to meet the required criteria to compete in a qualifier.
East Asia-Pacific Qualifier
Held in Indonesia from May 14 to 20, 2024, the competition followed a double round-robin format featuring the hosts, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Fiji, and Samoa. Samoa topped the table, losing only one game to PNG, and became the first Samoan team to qualify for a Cricket World Cup.
In other results, the hosts finished second with 8 points from four wins, losing twice—both times to eventual champions Samoa. PNG secured third place with three wins and three losses, while winless Fiji finished at the bottom of the table in fourth place.
Europe Qualifier
Held in Scotland from August 1 to 4, 2024, the competition featured a three-match T20 series between the Netherlands and Scotland. Three low scores from the Netherlands proved costly, as Scotland secured dominant victories; a 10-wicket win chasing 42, a 6-wicket win chasing 90, and a 64-run win defending 144, completing a dominant series sweep.
Africa Qualifier
Held from August 21 to September 29, 2024, in Rwanda, the tournament was divided into two legs to accommodate participation from 8 to 14 teams. The first leg, Division 2, featured seven teams; Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini, Ghana, Malawi, and Sierra Leone. Malawi secured six straight wins to claim a spot in Division 1, while Kenya advanced with five wins and just one loss.
Division 1 followed a round-robin format, with the eight teams divided into two groups of four, each playing three matches. Group A included Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, and Uganda, while Group B featured Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Uganda and Nigeria remained unbeaten in their groups, while Zimbabwe and Rwanda secured two wins each.
In the semifinals, Zimbabwe and Nigeria registered dominant victories. The final was abandoned due to rain and based on their unbeaten run in the group stage, Nigeria was declared the winner, making history as the first Nigerian women’s team to qualify for a Cricket World Cup.
Asia Qualifier
Held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 6 to 13, 2024, the tournament followed a double round-robin format and featured the hosts, Nepal, Thailand, and Kuwait. Both Nepal and the UAE finished with five wins each from six games, but Nepal secured the final 16th slot for the 2025 Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup qualification courtesy of a superior net run rate – 3.935 compared to UAE’s 3.740.
Teams have announced their squads for the upcoming 2nd edition of the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup. For groupings and the schedule, click here.
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