Eleven years after staging matches for the 2007 World Cup limited overs competition, the first such tournament to be held in the Caribbean, the Providence National Stadium will once again host World Cup matches.
This time the competition will be the inaugural stand alone
International Cricket Council’s Women’s World T20 which will feature some 11 matches.
Spanning five days in November this year, the defending champions, West Indies, will be at home as they battle nine other nations for the title from November 9-24.
The teams in the competition are West Indies, Australia, England, Pakistan, India, New Zeeland, Sri Lanka and South Africa with two teams emerging from the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier
The teams participating in the Qualifying event are Bangladesh, Ireland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.
The Caribbean women are in Group A along with England, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Qualifier 1, while Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Qualifier 2 will be in Group B.
With 23 matches booked, Guyana has secured 11 of those matches with three matches to be played on the opening day.
New Zeeland will take on India before three-time champions Australia face Pakistan and West Indies will play Qualifier 1 under lights on November 9 at Providence.
The other venues for the tournament are the Darren Sammy Stadium, St Lucia, which will also host a group stage and the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua that will host the back end of the competition.
According to Tournament Director, Jennifer Nero,“The West Indies is one of the great places in the world for sports, entertainment and culture. Cricket is the heartbeat of the West Indies and we want to show case all these offerings during the tournament. It will be fast-paced, exciting and action-packed with lots of enjoyable moments. This is the Year of the Woman, and the world’s top teams will be coming.” She added, “I want to urge the fans to come out and see the best players in the modern game. Women’s cricket is growing at a rapid rate as we saw from last year’s ICC Women’s World Cup in England, and teams are getting stronger. Here in the West Indies, we are committed to playing a major role in the continued growth and development of the sport. We want to invite the cricket world to be part of this exhilarating world-class event on and off the field.”
Meanwhile captain of the local side, Stafanie Taylor stated “It is great to host the cricket world here in the West Indies. This is a great place to play cricket and we know our fans will enjoy every moment of the tournament. Its extra special as our families and friends will get to see us playing on home soil in a huge international tournament. It is also wonderful to have the cricket world see what the game is like in the region, how we celebrate and enjoy ourselves, and feel the vibes, the music and the culture.”
She noted “We won the last edition in India and that was an amazing feeling. We are now playing at home and it would be even better to win again, this time in front of our supporters at home. We know the grounds, the pitches and most importantly, we know what is required. We’re playing for the people of the West Indies and we want to win again for them.”
Guyana Leg:
November 9: New Zealand v India, Australia v Pakistan, West Indies v Q1
November 11: India v Pakistan, Australia v Q2
November 13: Pakistan v Q2, Australia v New Zealand
November 15: India v Q2, New Zealand v Pakistan
November 17: India v Australia, New Zealand v Q2
