The 2017 Women’s World Cup is an international women’s cricket tournament to be played in England. It is the eleventh edition of the Women’s Cricket World Cup and the third to be held in England. Eight teams have qualified for the world cup including India.
The tournament will get underway on Saturday, 24 June with 28 matches being held over 21 days. A round-robin between the world’s eight best teams will conclude in semi-finals at Bristol and Derby before the final at Lords on 23 July.
Host England will face India in the tournament opener in Derby County Ground on 24 June. India will feature in four games in Derby, including the much anticipated clash with its arch rival Pakistan on a Sunday, 2 July. India will also take on the West Indies in Taunton, Australia in Bristol and South Africa in Leicester.
On 8 February 2016, it was announced that in the Group Stage, eight sides will participate in a single-league format with each side playing the other once. The top four sides following the conclusion of the league matches will progress to the semi-finals with the winners meeting at Lord’s on 23 July. Therefore a total of 31 matches will be played during the 28-day tournament. full fixtures for the tournament were announced by the ICC on 8 March 2017, to coincide with International Women’s Day.
Tournament Director of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, Steve Elworthy, said: “Preparations are now well under way for this summer’s tournament which we hope will push new boundaries for the women’s game. We have worked hard with the venues to put together a schedule that best meets the needs of the players, fans and broadcasters. Confirming the start date as Saturday 24 June, means we have an additional weekend of cricket and it promises to be an exciting opening weekend for everyone involved.”
The County Grounds in Bristol, Derby, Leicester and Taunton will host seven matches apiece, with hosts England playing at least one game at each of the four venues.
Our very own Sachin Tendulkar was named the ambassador of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. Sachin being one of the biggest icons in the cricketing world, ICC made a very clever decision appointing him the ambassador. Sachin looks forward to the World Cup, and feels women’s cricket is vital for globalizing the game. “The women cricketers have caught the fancy of cricket aficionados around the world with stellar performances and have increased their audience.”
“They have spawned interest in young girls to play the sport and also helping generate a larger following for the game at a time when the game is seeking to expand its footprint globally and become relevant in non-cricket playing countries,” he said.
“While gender bias has been the bane of many aspects of the world, the sports narrative seems to be different. It is heartening to see that cricket is making strides in helping women occupy their pride of place in the annals of cricketing history,” he added.
He also hoped that Indian players like pacer Jhulan Goswami and batswoman Mithali Raj do their best in the world cup.”There is our very own Jhulan Goswami, who is quick and gets that extra bit from the wicket and Mithali Raj, our seasoned campaigner from India,” he said.
“I wish all the teams the very best for the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers and would urge all of you to wholeheartedly support women’s cricket, for the sake of cricket.” He later added