The International Cricket Council (ICC) intends to use the Twenty20 format for fast-tracking women’s cricket globally.
With the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup 2024 arriving in great fanfare in the UAE between October 3-20, an ICC official explained on Wednesday how this shortest format will fuel expansion in women’s sport at a media meet in Dubai.
Twenty20 cricket will definitely help the women’s game grow. We’ve had our tournaments of 50 overs for a great number of years, but most opportunities now lie in the T20 format, which is why we hold our World Cups every two years,” said ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice, announcing details of the tournament, which was originally due to take place in Bangladesh but was switched to the UAE because of political unrest.
Allardice also spoke about how the T20 format helped teams like Nepal, Uganda, and the USA get an opportunity to feature on the world stage during the recent Men’s World Cup. “This format, particularly around the world, is gaining considerable focus from our member countries,” he added.
Popularity on the rise
The T20 format has succeeded in bridging the gap between elite teams and emergent teams. The recent Men’s World Cup in the West Indies and the USA was testimony to how Shakespearean the sport has turned out to be, wherein no team can take any other for granted. Continuing in that vein, the ICC has expanded the scope of the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in England to 12 teams from the current 10.
Adding the two teams will provide more opportunities for Associate Nations to better prepare themselves, like for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “The expansion will help Associate Nations by creating another spot at the World Cup, which acts as a key lever to promote cricket in new regions,” said Allardice.
For the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup, the two-time defending champions Australia, India, England, and Pakistan are two of 10 teams that will be participating in the mega event that consists of a total of 23 matches over an 18-day period. Ten teams, divided into two groups of five each, will play against the other four teams within their group in a round-robin format, with only the top two from each group qualifying further into the knockout stages.
It comprises Australia and India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Group B is comprised of Bangladesh, England, South Africa, West Indies and Scotland.
The semi-finals will be played in Dubai and Sharjah on October 17 and 18 while the final will be held on October 20 in Dubai.
Franchise Leagues fuelling growth in women’s cricket
The phenomenal growth of women’s cricket has been further fueled by the mushrooming franchise leagues such as Australia’s Women’s Big Bash, India’s Women’s Premier League, and England’s The Hundred. These leagues give female cricketers greater visibility, better financial opportunities, and thus the chance to dream bigger.
Cricket is becoming increasingly popular among young girls because they consider it a safe sport with potentially professional career prospects,” Allardice said. He further emphasized that full-time contracts available for women had also gone up in recent years, particularly in those countries playing Test cricket.
The future of women’s cricket is no different, with several multi-team events lined up. Post-2024 World Cup, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in late 2025 is scheduled in India, followed by the Under-19 T20 World Cup in January next year in Malaysia.
UAE’s diversity adds to World Cup allure
The shift of the World Cup to the UAE has with it unique benefits, particularly in the diverse population mix of the country. “One of the exciting things about the UAE is its diversity. It’s a place where the entire world is represented, making this effectively a home World Cup for all 10 teams,” Allardice said. He also announced that tickets would start from just Dh5, with free entry for fans under 18.
The ICC will also be collaborating closely with the Emirates Cricket Board and Dubai Sports Council to plan “criiio festivals” that will see over 500 girls participate in cricket during the tournament in a fun and playful introduction to the game.
ICC to use T20 format to boost women’s cricket globally
