ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy 2026: Teams, Groups, Format and Schedule Confirmed

Thailand will host the second edition of the ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy from 12th to 25th November 2026, with the Cricket Association of Thailand (CAT) staging the expanded 10-team tournament across Bangkok’s Terdthai Cricket Ground and Asian Institute of Technology Ground. After winning the inaugural edition at home in November 2025, Thailand will return as defending champions in a competition that now brings together five Full Members and five Associate Members, underlining its growing importance in the global women’s cricket pathway.

The tournament has been expanded from eight to 10 teams for 2026, with the ICC piloting a format that combines established Full Member nations with high-performing Associate sides. The participating teams have been selected on the basis of rankings and previous T20 World Cup qualification, giving the event both competitive depth and genuine stakes for teams seeking to narrow the gap at the top of the women’s game.

Thailand enter the tournament with the confidence of champions. The hosts topped the table in the inaugural edition and emerged victorious, a landmark result that affirmed their status among the leading Associate nations in women’s cricket. Their Group B campaign will begin against the Netherlands on 12th November, followed by fixtures against Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh as they look to defend their title in familiar Bangkok conditions.

The 10 teams have been divided into two groups. Group A features Scotland, Papua New Guinea, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland and Sri Lanka, while Group B comprises Thailand, the Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Each side will play the other four teams in its group once in a single round-robin stage, before the top three teams from both groups progress to the Super Six.

In the Super Six, the three qualifiers from Group A will face the three qualifiers from Group B, creating fresh cross-group contests and keeping the tournament open until the latter stages. The top two teams at the end of the Super Six will contest the final on 25th November, with the title match scheduled to begin at 10:00 am local time in Bangkok.

The competition forms part of the ICC’s broader plan to strengthen the women’s Associate Member pathway. In October 2024, the ICC Board approved a series of women’s Associate Member T20 competitions designed to improve competitiveness ahead of the expansion of ICC women’s events in the 2028–2031 cycle. The strategy includes two annual T20 International tournaments between 2025 and 2028, offering structured, context-driven cricket to 24 teams ahead of the 16-team ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2030.

For Thailand, the event is both a sporting opportunity and a statement of intent. Their triumph in the inaugural edition demonstrated that Associate nations can compete with and overcome more established sides, while the presence of Full Members such as Sri Lanka, Ireland, Bangladesh and Pakistan raises the level of opposition considerably. The expanded field also gives Papua New Guinea, Scotland, the UAE, the Netherlands and Zimbabwe a high-profile platform to test themselves against a wider range of opponents.

With 20 group-stage matches, nine Super Six fixtures and a final, the 2026 edition promises more cricket, more narratives and a clearer bridge between emerging talent and the sport’s biggest stages. For the hosts, Bangkok will once again become the centre of women’s cricket’s expanding map, and Thailand will begin their defence with the advantage of home support, conditions and championship pedigree.

Tournament Schedule:

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