The 11th 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup is round the corner and we couldn’t be happier! The tournament was held for the first time in 1973 in England, and the eleventh edition will also be held in England for the third time. Eight teams have qualified to participate in the world cup.
Australia, England, New Zealand and the West Indies qualified directly for the tournament as the top four teams of ICC Women’s Championship 2014-16, while the remaining four – India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan came through the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2017 played in Colombo in February 2017.
Image Credit: ICC
The Indian team will include: Mithali Raj (C), Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Smriti Mandhana, Mona Meshram, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Nuzhat Parween, Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma. Sushma Verma (WK).
Image Credit: ICC
The ICC released the event logo exactly an year ago on July 23, 2016 in the host country’s colours and said that the logo depicts the connection between the sport and and its relationship to the host nation.
Image Credit: ICC
The official tournament will begin on June 24, 2017 and the final will be held on July 23, 2017, however, four practice matches are scheduled from June 19 – June 22, 2017. In the practice matches, India will play New Zealand on June 19 in Derbyshire and on June 21, India will play Sri Lanka in Chesterfield.
The Indian team is enthusiastic about playing the practice matches, captain Mithali Raj said, “We are eagerly awaiting the ICC Women’s World Cup, especially after our thrilling victory against South Africa in the final of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Colombo in February. The warm-up matches provide teams with the chance to iron out any deficiencies and we look forward to making maximum use of them.”
Just last month, the Indian cricket team beat South Africa in the final of the Quadrangular Series at the Senwes Park, Potchefstroom by 8 wickets on May 21.
The opening matches on June 24 will be between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Bristol and India and England in Derby. A total of 31 matches will be played during the 28 days tournament. The two semi-finals are scheduled on July 18 and July 20, respectively and Lord’s Cricket Ground in London will host the final on July 23, 2017.
Image Credit: ICC
To see the full schedule and announcement, click here.
We’re very excited for the world cup and will following up with all India matches here on FII. Women’s cricket (and sports) has been neglected for a long time, and it’s time we give it the attention it deserves!
Also read: What The 2016 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Means For Feminism
There seems to be a lot more attention being paid to this year’s tournament, which I think is fantastic!
Hopefully, there will be plenty of excitement along the way and I’ll certainly be putting some money on England!