Dubai, May 25: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced that the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand and the USA have been given women’s ODI status with immediate effect as part of the revamped Women’s Cricket World Cup qualification pathway.
The ODI performances of these teams will determine their ODI rankings and count towards qualification for the 2025 Cricket World Cup. Apart from this, the ICC also announced the third edition of the ICC Women’s Championship (IWC), which kicks off with Pakistan’s home series against Sri Lanka in Karachi from June 1.
“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,” said ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice in a statement.
The IWC has now been expanded to ten teams from eight as part of cricket’s governing body making a commitment to accelerate the growth of the women’s game. Bangladesh and Ireland will make their debuts in the competition, which provides a direct qualification pathway to the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
“The context that the IWC brings is so important and ensures fans around the world can enjoy meaningful and competitive cricket throughout the year. I wish all the teams in the ICC Women’s Championship the very best in this next edition and good luck to Netherlands, PNG, Scotland, Thailand and the USA on what I hope will be a great opportunity to develop in 50 over cricket in their countries,” added Allardice.
The ten teams will play eight three-match series each during the 2022-25 cycle, comprising four home series and four away series which have been mutually agreed by the participating teams, providing a regular calendar of top-quality competitive cricket for fans around the world to enjoy in between ICC events. (IANS)
