Eight of the 10 groups have been affirmed for the ICC Ladies’ T20 World Cup 2023, with the two leftover qualifiers not entirely settled at the ICC Ladies’ T20 World Cup Qualifier occurring in September 2022.
HIGHLIGHTS
- ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 will be a 10-team event
- ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 will see 16 teams
- Events will take place one after the other in January and February 2023
Cricket South Africa on Monday announced the host cities of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 and the first edition of the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.
Benoni and Potchefstroom will host the first edition of the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in January 2023, while the coastal cities of Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), Paarl and Cape Town will stage the Women’s T20 World Cup in February.
After a long stretch, the Eastern and Western Cape will host an ICC event. In 2007, Newlands in Cape Town hosted the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, while St George’s Park in Gqeberha and Boland Park in Paarl staged their first major ICC event matches during the 2003 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Eight of the 10 teams have been confirmed for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, with the two remaining qualifiers to be determined at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier taking place in the United Arab Emirates in September 2022. Meanwhile, for the U19 Women’s event, there is one remaining place available to qualify for the 16-team event which will be confirmed in September following the conclusion of the Africa Qualifier.
“We’re thrilled to announce the three cities to host the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup,” Tournament Director, Russell Adams said. “The Eastern and Western Cape are prime cricket and tourist locations with great facilities and infrastructure. We have no doubt that these venues will step up to make this a memorable and uniquely African celebration of cricket for the local and international fans attending the event.”
“This is a special time for women’s cricket in South Africa, we are excited to be host of the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup and look forward to the spotlight focusing on the world’s best cricketers,” Sivuyile Mqingwana, U19 Women’s T20 World Cup Tournament Director commented. “We hope all the players taking part will enjoy their time on the big stage and more young girls will pick up the bat and ball to play the game.”