Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced the full schedule for the 2022 Women’s World Cup which will be played in New Zealand between March 4 and April 3.
The pinnacle event for women’s cricket will see 31 matches played across 31 action-packed days.
The tournament was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, from its original window in February-March 2021 with the same six host cities and venues retained for 2022.
The first global women’s cricket event to be played since the T20 World Cup in Australia in March, it will feature eight of the world’s best nations going head-to-head across Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.
According to the schedule, the Basin Reserve in Wellington and the Hagley Oval in Christchurch will host the semi-finals with the latter also set to host the final under lights on April 3, 2022.
The tournament-opener will be held in Tauranga featuring the White Ferns and a qualifier on March 4.
Mithali Raj, captain India is also looking forward to leading her team to a win at the World Cup.
”We have all been through a very difficult year and are happy to be getting back at playing the game we all love,” Mithali said in an ICC statement.
”India has been doing very well at ICC tournaments in the past three or four years, whether you talk about the (ODI) World Cup or the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
? if we manage to win the tournament in 2022, it will be a massive inspiration for the next generation of girls, as the fifty-over format, is considered the pinnacle for any cricketer. I can assure you the team and I are looking forward to it,” she added.
Besides India, New Zealand, Australia, England and South Africa have qualified for the World Cup. The three remaining teams will emerge from the ICC qualifying tournament which will be held from June 26 to July 10 in Sri Lanka next year.
The eight-team round-robin format will see all teams play each other, with the top four teams qualifying for semi-finals.
It will be the first of two major cricket tournaments across the globe in 2022- the other being the Commonwealth Games in England.
“This schedule takes the world’s best cricketers across New Zealand and can help inspire a generation of girls and boys to take up the game,” ICC CEO, Manu Sawhney said.
The prize money for the showpiece will total NZD 5.5 million, an increase of almost 60 percent on 2017 and more than 1000 percent compared to 2013.