This announcement came with the joint agreement with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). This is the first time since 1998 that cricket will be a part of the Commonwealth Games. Back in 1998, when Kuala Lumpur hosted the Commonwealth games, it was the South African men’s cricket team who had clinched the gold medal by beating the Australian team in the 50 overs competition. However, this time the scenario will be a bit different as only women’s team will be participating in the T20 format in Birmingham.
The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games will take place from July 27 to August 7 with eight international teams playing cricket. All eight match days will be held at Edgbaston cricket ground, which played host to a number of memorable matches during the ICC men’s World Cup this summer, including England’s semi-final victory over Australia.
Earlier, both ICC & ECB had submitted the application urging the Commonwealth Games Federation to include the sport in the 2022 games which will be hosted in Birmingham. After the announcement ICC responded in a delighted manner.
The ICC will be responsible for the terms and conduct of the competition, by way of providing match officials and ensuring matches are played as per the rules of the game.
“This is a truly historic moment for women’s cricket and for the global cricket community, who were united in their support of this bid,” Manu Sawhney, Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council said.
“Women’s cricket continues to go from strength to strength, and we are delighted and honored the Commonwealth Games Associations voted to include Women’s T20 cricket at Birmingham 2022.” he also added.
ECB Chief Executive Officer also commented on the occasion, “We are delighted that Women’s T20 Cricket will be part of Birmingham 2022, an event that represents the biggest female and Parasport programme in Commonwealth Games history. Today’s landmark announcement is another indication of the extremely bright future for women’s cricket.
“Cricket’s inclusion in an event with such a large global reach aligns perfectly with our plan to enable more women and girls to be inspired to get involved in cricket. We would like to thank the teams at Birmingham 2022, the Commonwealth Games Foundation and the International Cricket Council for their support in sharing this vision for one of the world’s biggest team sports.”
Commonwealth Games Federation President Dame Louise Martin also responded to this by saying, “Today is a historic day and we are delighted to welcome the sport of cricket back to the Commonwealth Games,”
“Cricket was last played in the Games at Kuala Lumpur in 1998 when the men’s 50-overs-a-side competition was won by South Africa and featured icons of the sport including Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, and Sachin Tendulkar.”
Other additional Sports Also get a Green Flag
The Commonwealth Games Federation has also included some more variety of sports to the Birmingham 2022 programme.
Beach volleyball – The organizers have included Beach Volleyball into the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and will feature both men and women events taking place. Total of 48 athletes will be participating in the men’s and women’s events. However, the venues will be announced in the near future.
Para-table tennis – It was included four years ago and it is the eighth sport in the Para-sports category, the Birmingham competition will see 32 athletes take part across four medal events. The sports will be held at the NEC in the same venue as the table tennis competition.
