On Sunday, the International Cricket Council [ICC] named South Africa the host of the first-ever U19 Women’s T20 World Cup. The tournament was earlier scheduled to be held in 2021. However, the Covid-19 outbreak has postponed the tournament twice. Finally, an official confirmation has been released. The tournament will be played in SA in January 2024. Moreover, the tournament will be featuring 16 teams and a total of 41 matches will be played.
ICC’s quarterly Board Meeting was held in Dubai on Sunday. Various important decisions were made. The U19 Women’s WC will be played prior to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. Both the events will be hosted by South Africa. The ICC Women’s T20 WC will be played between 9th and 26th February. Moreover, a total of 10 teams will participate. South Africa qualifies being the host. Whereas the other confirmed participants are Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and West Indies. While the remaining two teams will have to qualify for the WC.
U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2024
The ICC announced the revised dates for the U19 Women’s T20. The 16-match tournament will commence in South Africa in Jan. Moreover, the U19 WC will act as the curtain-raiser of ICC Women’s T20 WC. It’ll begin on 9th Feb 2024.
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“This is fantastic news” Pholetsi Moseki- CEO of SA Cricket
There have been speculations on the inaugural U19 women’s WC for a long now. When the final verdict has come from ICC. Not just cricket fans but even cricket personalities can’t keep calm about it. CEO of South Africa Cricket, Pholetsi Moseki shared his excitement for the tournament. Moreover, the country will now be hosting two back-to-back ICC events in a gap of 2 months. Cricket South Africa is looking forward to the events.
“This is fantastic news, and we acknowledge the ICC’s show of faith in South Africa, and our vision and desire to work collaboratively to host this momentous event. The U19 Women’s World Cup has been eagerly anticipated by cricket fans and following COVID-19 delays, we are delighted to finally welcome the rising stars of the future onto our shores for what will be an exciting, lesson-filled, and potentially life-changing event.”
It is always an honor for a country to host ICC events. All eyes will be on South Africa as two of the major ICC tournaments for next year are scheduled to take place in the country. Moreover, this is not the first time for SA to host an inaugural ICC tournament. Earlier, in 2007, SA hosted the 2007 T20 WC. India has become the inaugural title holders, defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in the famous final match.
“On the back of witnessing the fine displays at the recent World Cup, the host cities and venues will be just as excited and ready to set the world stage for the promising cricketers to perform on and be immersed in what will be a first major tournament in the young careers of most of the players.”
