Commonwealth Games qualification process revealed

The multisport event, which is due to be held in Birmingham, will see women’s cricket form part of the competition for the first time ever, with all games staged at Edgbaston

The qualification process for women’s cricket has been announced ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The multisport event, which is due to be held in Birmingham, will see women’s cricket form part of the competition for the first time ever, with all games staged at Edgbaston.

It will also mark only the second time that the sport has featured at all, with men’s cricket previously included in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

The eight-team tournament grants England an automatic position as the host nation, with six other guaranteed places for the highest-ranked ICC members in the women’s T20I rankings, as of April 1, 2021.

According to the current standings, Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan would all be set to qualify as beneficiaries.

However, there are caveats that could complicate the process. Caribbean athletes represent their own country rather than the West Indies in the Commonwealth Games, so should Stafanie Taylor’s squad find themselves in a qualification position, a qualifying tournament between the individual Caribbean nations would then take place in order to decide which country would represent the West Indies.

The remaining place – once seven have been filled based on rankings and England’s host status – will be allocated to the winner of a Commonwealth Games qualifier. Neither the format nor details have been confirmed, though the deadline for the qualifier is January 31, 2022.

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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.”

England captain Heather Knight added: “It’s incredibly exciting that we’re going to be taking part in the Commonwealth Games on home soil. It’s an event I’ve often watched and I never really imagined I’d be taking part so it feels really special.

“It’s another fantastic opportunity for the game of cricket, with coverage live on the BBC, and the chance to reach the thousands of fans who like attending multi-discipline events.

“We can’t wait to be in Birmingham amongst all the other athletes, and we’re counting down towards 2022 – it’s going to be a huge year for us and for women’s cricket in general.”