- Women’s T20 World Cup tournaments have been exciting over the last 14 years
- Cricket fans expect more magic in the 2023 edition, which will begin on Saturday, February 10, in South Africa
- The participating nations competed in ten warm-up matches, played from February 6 to February 8, 2023
From Ellyse Perry’s last ball boot in the 2010 final and Harmanpreet Kaur’s blistering maiden century in the 2018 edition to Alyssa Healy’s carnage in 2020, Women’s T20 World Cup tournaments have been exciting over the last 14 years.
And we expect more magic in the 2023 edition, which will begin on Saturday, February 10, in South Africa. The final will be played on Monday, February 27, in Cape Town.
Women’s T20 World Cup. Photo/ SportsTiger.
The tournament was last played in 2020 before the Coronavirus pandemic struck. A record MCG crowd of 86,174 watched as hosts Australia defeated India by 85 runs to win the title. Coming off a 2-0 home series win over Pakistan, Australia are in great shape and could defend their title.
What Is The Format?
The format of the Women’s T20 World Cup tournament is simple. There are ten teams, two groups of five each. Each team will play four group games between February 10 and February 21.
Afterwards, the top two teams in the groups will proceed to the semi-finals, which will be played between February 23 and February 24. The final match will be played at Newlands, Cape Town, on Sunday, February 26.
The participating nations competed in ten warm-up matches, played from February 6 to February 8, 2023.
Who Will Be Playing?
The ICC confirmed the qualification process for the tournament in December 2020. South Africa automatically qualified for the tournament because they are the hosts. They were then joined by the seven highest-ranked teams in the ICC Women’s T20I Rankings, as of November 30, 2021.
Two more teams (Bangladesh and Ireland) qualified for the tournament, and as a result, there will be ten teams taking part. Bangladesh and Ireland made it through after a series of qualifiers. Thailand, who featured in 2020, did not make it to this year’s event.
Group A consists of hosts South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand. Group B consists of West Indies, Ireland, England, India and Pakistan.
Who Are The Favourites?
The juggernaut in women’s cricket, Australia, are without a doubt the favourites to win the eighth edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Australia are the defending champion. Photo/ Sky Sports.
Australia lost just one match across all formats in 2022, and it will take something special to defeat them in South Africa. Meg Lanning’s side could become dual holders of the 50-over and T20 world titles.
India, who reached the final of the T20 World Cup in 2020, are another strong team who could lift the title this year.
Key Dates Of The Women’s T20 World Cup 2023
February 10: The tournament kicks off, with the first match being between hosts South Africa and Sri Lanka.
February 21: The group fixtures come to an end with a clash between South Africa and Bangladesh.
February 23 and 24: The semi-finals of the tournament will be played on these two days at Newlands, Cape Town. The top of Group 1 will be facing second in Group 2 and vice-versa.
February 26: The final of the tournament will be played between the winner of semi-final 1 and the winner of semi-final 2 at Newlands, Cape Town.
Where Are The Venues?
The ICC announced in August 2022 that three venues in three cities would host the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa. The venues are Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town, St George’s Park Cricket Ground in St George’s Park and Boland Park in Paarl.
The tournament will be played in three venues in South Africa. Photo/ ipl.ae.
Newlands Cricket Ground is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful venues in the cricket world. It is a regular venue for T20Is, Test matches and ODIs. The cricket ground is close to Newlands Stadium, which is a football and rugby union venue.
St George’s Park is one of the legendary cricket venues, having hosted South Africa’s first-ever Test match in March 1889. England won the game by eight wickets.
Boland Park is a multi-purpose stadium in South Africa, which is mostly used for cricket games. The stadium, which can accommodate up to 10,000 fans, hosted three games during the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login