On Thursday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) granted ODI status to women’s cricket teams of the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand, and the USA. The five teams have been granted the ODI status with immediate effect. These teams will be able to participate in the ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers to have a go at the World Cup berth.
Apart from granting ODI status to the five teams, the ICC also announced the third edition of the ICC Women’s Championship (ICW) which will kick start from June 1 with Sri Lanka taking on Pakistan in a three-match ODI series in Karachi.
The IWC will see 10 teams, an increase of two teams from the initial eight, with Bangladesh and Ireland being the new entrants. Australia captain Meg Lanning said, “To have Bangladesh and Ireland involved, will not only be great for us to have the chance to play more cricket against them, but also to expose them to more cricket against the top nations. We want to see the women’s game as strong as possible and developing the next tier of nations is a big part of that.”
BREAKING NEWS:
Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand, and USA granted ODI status.#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/6SCVG6yvIP
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) May 25, 2022
In an official statement, Geoff Allardice, ICC Chief Executive, said, “Increasing the number of teams in the ICC Women’s Championship and awarding ODI status to five additional teams will help us to accelerate the growth of the women’s game. More teams playing more regularly creates a more competitive environment as we saw at the recent ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.”
Being a part of the IWC, Bangladesh, and Ireland will get a direct qualification pathway to the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers. All the 10 teams will play eight ODI series between 2022 and 2025. Out of the eight ODI series, four will be home series and four will be away series. For instance, India will play home series against New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland and West Indies and away series against Australia, England, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The latest developments in the women’s game will certainly provide an impetus to the sport and bring out the best quality of competitive cricket.
Quotes are sourced from the ICC website
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I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
