Women’s T20 nominated for inclusion at 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham
Women’s T20 took a step closer to being a part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games after being nominated for inclusion. If formally consented by the CGF, the ICC and ECB believe that this would be a huge step in the development of the game beyond its traditional bases, especially for women’s cricket.
For long now, the game of cricket has stuck to its traditional base in its development as a global sport. The last time the sport was a part of the Games was in 1998, in Kuala Lumpur, when the South African men took home the gold medal. Looking back even further in history, cricket has only featured once in the Olympic games. The ICC has been pushing for the sport to be included at the Olympics, but face stiff resistance from the Indian board BCCI.
But, women’s cricket has been on a sharp rise in the last decade, and the ICC is keen to cash in on its potential as soon as possible. They had admitted last year that Birmingham 2022 would be ideal for cricket to make a comeback into the Games as 23% of its residents have links to cricket-playing nations.
So, when the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) nominated women’s T20 event for inclusion at Birmingham, the ICC was thrilled by the news.
“We are absolutely delighted that women’s cricket has been nominated for inclusion in Birmingham 2022. I’d like to thank everyone at the CGF and Birmingham 2022 for the nomination and it would be a real honour to become part of the Commonwealth Games family,” ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said in a statement.
A formal consent by the CGF, and a bidding process that follows remain before a final decision is made, but ECB chief executive Tom Harrison believes a landmark moment for the development of the sport is around the corner.
“It would present us with a wonderful opportunity to capitalise on the global reach of these Games to showcase the very best of women’s cricket and in doing so inspire a new generation of women and girls,” Harrison told Reuters.
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