The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have announced the qualification process for cricket at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, scheduled from 28th July to 08th August. Edgbaston ground in Birmingham will be hosting all the matches, which will see women’s cricket taking part in the Commonwealth Games for the first time ever.
Host’s England, along with six other highest ranked ICC Members in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings as of 01st April 2021 will qualify directly for the eight-team tournament. The final spot will be taken up by the winner of the Commonwealth Games Qualifier, which will be announced in due course of time and needs to be completed before 31st Jan 2020.
The details of the Commonwealth Games Qualifier will be confirmed by 31st July 2021, and ICC will announce the format and eligibility criteria for the event, however the competing teams will be required to have an ICC T20I Ranking by 01st April 2021 in order to participate in the qualifier. The likes of Namibia, Tanzania, Malaysia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Samoa and Canada will be looking forward to take part in the qualifiers.
If West Indies qualify directly as per their ranking in the ICC rankings, a separate qualifying tournament in the Caribbean will decide which country gets to compete in the tournament, as athletes from the Caribbean will be representing their countries and not the West Indies. The following CGAs will compete in the West Indies qualification tournament as the Leeward Islands (Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, St Kitts & Nevis) and the Windward Islands (Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent & The Grenadines). Should the Leeward Islands or Windward Islands qualify as the top placed team from the West Indies qualification tournament, the ICC and CGF will determine the CGA from the Leeward Islands or Windward Islands to earn qualification in their sole and
absolute discretion. In an event of no tournament being able to take place to decide the qualifying country, the ICC will use the result of the West Indies Women’s T20 Blaze 2019
tournament to determine the CGA from the West Indies to earn qualification.
ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said: “Cricket at the Commonwealth Games is a fantastic opportunity for us to continue to grow the women’s game globally. We are committed to accelerating this growth and maintaining the momentum we have created over the past few years, which most recently saw 86,174 fans packed into the MCG for the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020.
“I thank the Commonwealth Games Federation for their support and for making this possible. We share with them the vision of greater equality, fairness and opportunity in sport and I am sure Birmingham 2022 will go a long way towards us achieving our common objectives.”
ICC Women’s Cricket Manager Holly Colvin said: “We have worked closely with the CGF and ICC Members over the last year to confirm the qualification process. It’s fantastic that we are supporting opportunities for a Caribbean island and Commonwealth countries ranked outside the top seven to have the chance to qualify for this momentous event.
“It is a watershed moment for our sport as women’s cricket takes center stage for the first time at the Commonwealth Games. It is a huge opportunity to show the skills, strength and talent of these female athletes to sports fans across the Commonwealth and attract a new audience to continue to break boundaries for a bright future.”
