Women’s T20 Cricket added to 2022 Commonwealth Games
Women’s cricket has been given a major boost after the T20 format of the game was declared as one of the events to be held at the 2022 Commonwealth games in Birmingham, England. Eight teams will be competing for the gold medal at Edgbaston and the move was lauded by both the ICC and the ECB.
With talks going on for a long time to include cricket as a part of the Commonwealth Games, the first step has been made by including women’s cricket as a part of the sporting extravaganza. The first and last time the Games had included cricket was more than two decades back in 1998, when South Africa had defeated Australia in the final to emerge as champions from the 16 sides that were competing. The format followed was that of ODIs and New Zealand had ended up with the Bronze medal.
"Today is an historic day and we are delighted to welcome the sport of cricket back to the Commonwealth Games. Cricket was last played in the Games at Kuala Lumpur in 1998 when the men's 50-overs-a-side competition was won by South Africa and featured icons of the sport including Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar,” Commonwealth Games Foundation (CGF) President Dame Louise Martin DBE was reported saying by Cricbuzz.
"We believe the Commonwealth Games will be a fantastic platform to showcase the exciting sport of Women's T20 Cricket and continue to help grow the game globally. We would like to thank the International Cricket Council for their hard work and efforts to ensure that the sport is in the Games in Birmingham as we believe it will contribute to a spectacular and vibrant multi-sport event. Cricket is truly a Commonwealth sport and we hope Birmingham 2022 will be the start of a long and successful partnership between Women's Cricket and the Games," he added.
Eight teams will be participating in the 2022 edition scheduled to be held from 27th July to the seventh of August, 2022. Edgbaston will play host to all the matches of the tournament. The move was much appreciated by cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council.
"This is a truly historic moment for women's cricket and for the global cricket community, who were united in their support of this bid. Women's cricket continues to go from strength to strength, and we are delighted and honoured the Commonwealth Games Associations voted to include Women's T20 cricket at Birmingham 2022,” Manu Sawhney, Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council quoted.
"Fast and exciting, the T20 format is the perfect fit for the Commonwealth Games and offers another chance to showcase women's cricket on the global stage as part of our ambitious plans to accelerate the growth of the game, whilst inspiring the next generation of cricketers. All the players who are lucky enough to compete at Birmingham 2022 will be part of a truly memorable experience," he added.
The ECB also came in support of the progressive move.
"We are delighted that Women's T20 Cricket will be part of Birmingham 2022, an event that represents the biggest female and para sport programme in Commonwealth Games history. Today's landmark announcement is another indication of the extremely bright future for women's cricket, " ECB CEO Tom Harrison said.
"Cricket's inclusion in an event with such a large global reach aligns perfectly with our plan to enable more women and girls to be inspired to get involved in cricket. We would like to thank the teams at Birmingham 2022, the Commonwealth Games Foundation and the International Cricket Council for their support in sharing this vision for one of the world's biggest team sports," he signed off.
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