Photo Credit: ICC
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the confirmed schedule for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup qualifying pathway on the road to South Africa 2023 as ICC women’s cricket events return.
- The return of ICC women’s cricket sees eight teams Bhutan, Botswana, Cameroon, France, Malawi, Myanmar, Philippines and Turkey making their debuts in international ICC Women’s events
- 115 Women’s T20 Internationals to be played in seven months on the Road to South Africa 2023
- ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 dates in South Africa are 9-26 February
The 10-team World Cup which has now been rescheduled to 9-26 February 2023 will see the hosts South Africa and the seven top teams on the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings as of 30 November 2021 – from the teams that competed at the Australia 2020 event – qualify automatically for the 2023 edition.
The remaining two spots will be determined through a qualification process which is scheduled to start at regional level in August 2021 and includes 37 teams. This is an increase of ten teams from the Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 qualification, reflecting the continued growth of bilateral women’s T20 International cricket.
Eight teams Bhutan, Botswana, Cameroon, France, Malawi, Myanmar, Philippines and Turkey are all competing in an ICC women’s event for the first time, a nod to the growth within women’s cricket around the globe in emerging markets. Argentina and Brazil will return to ICC women’s competition for the first time since 2012.
The five regions will host a regional qualifying event with the top team from each region joining the bottom two ranked teams in the Women’s T20I Rankings as of 30 November 2021 – from the teams that competed at the Australia 2020 event – into the eight-team ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2022. The final position will be filled by the highest ranked team in the regional qualifiers on the November cut-off date, who missed out on topping their regional event table.
Across the qualification pathway there will be an astonishing 115 Women’s T20 Internationals played in the ICC events. Alongside more regular women’s international cricket it also provides teams with the opportunity to move up the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings.
ICC Women’s Cricket Manager, Holly Colvin said: “We are delighted to be welcoming the return of cricket for ICC women’s events. This is an exciting time for women’s cricket with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 raising the bar for women’s sporting events. Sustaining and then building on the momentum from February is key and the start of the next Women’s T20 World Cup qualifying pathway is a great place to start. There is lots to look forward to in the cricket scheduled with 115 women’s T20 Internationals due to be played over seven months and five teams competing in their first ever ICC Women’s Qualifier.”
All events are subject to COVID-19 arrangements if required at that time.
| Event | Host | Dates | Participating Members |
| ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier | Scotland | 26 – 30 August 2021 | France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Turkey |
| ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier | USA | 11 – 18 September 2021 | Argentina, Brazil, Canada, USA |
| ICC Women’s T20 World Cup EAP Qualifier | Samoa | 3-8 September 2021 | Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, PNG, Samoa, Vanuatu |
| ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier | Malaysia | 20-26 September 2021 | Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Myanmar, Nepal, Malaysia, UAE |
| ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier | Botswana | October 2021 | Botswana, Cameroon, Namibia, Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe |
| ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier | TBC | 2022 | ·Bottom teams in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings as of 30 November 2021 from the teams that competed at the Australia 2020 event x2 ·One qualifier per region x5 · Highest ranked team in the regional qualifiers as of 30 November 2021 that didn’t win their regional group x1 |
| ICC Women’s T20 World Cup | South Africa | 9-26 February 2023 | ·South Africa as Hosts ·Top teams in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings as of 30 November 2021 from the teams that competed at the Australia 2020 event x7 ·ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers x2 |
Notes to Editors:
The ICC Board has approved a detailed COVID-19 contingency plan in consultation with the ICC Medical Committee for all ICC Qualifying Events. The ICC’s priority is the protection and well-being of everyone involved in its events. Plans have been developed, which detail on-going risk management processes to monitor and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all hosts and participants.
Name of Author: ICC
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body for cricket, founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. Renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, it became the ICC in 1987. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, the ICC has 108 member nations.
