The Women’s T20 Blaze could possibly be hosted in Guyana in September and will determine which country represents West Indies at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Cricket.
This was confirmed by Chief Executive Officer of Cricket West Indies, Johnny Grave who told Stabroek Sport, “We plan to use our Women’s Regional competition – the T20 Blaze as a qualifying tournament with the winners going on to represent the West Indies at the 2022 Birmingham games.”
Grave noted, “We hope we can hold the Tournament in September,” while reckoning that Guyana is among the frontrunners to host the competition.
“We will know more after our Board meeting on Thursday but the original Women’s Regional Tournament was slated for Guyana,” he said.
Women’s cricket will feature at the Games for the first time but this will be the second time cricket is played following South Africa’s triumphant run in 1998 as the men’s ODI unfolded in Kuala Lumpur.
Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and hosts, England have all qualified due to their position in the T20I rankings.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, which will attract 4,500 athletes from 72 nations and territories, is scheduled to run from July 28 to August 8 next year.
In a release, ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice stated “We are incredibly proud and excited to be part of Birmingham 2022 and it is a fantastic opportunity for us to continue to grow the women’s game globally.”
“We are committed to maintaining the momentum that saw 86,174 fans packed into the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup last year and Birmingham 2022 gives us another global stage on which to showcase the women’s game,” he said
Allardice added, “On behalf of the ICC and its Members, I thank the Commonwealth Games Federation for their support and look forward to seeing some superb cricket at Edgbaston.”
