Cricket is one of the most beloved games in the world. Indian audience watches every cricket match with bated breath. The International Cricket Council governs all cricket tournaments in the world. ICC decided to keep men’s and women’s cricket separate to ensure that they had equal billing and their own space. However, women’s cricket was often neglected, underpaid, and promoted less than their male counterparts. Things are slowly changing, though.
ICC T20 Women’s World Cup is an international championship conducted once in two years, with the first series running in England in 2009. The women’s ICC T20 World Cup 2022 is the next tournament in line and is slated to run in South Africa. It is the first time South Africa is set to conduct the competition since it’s the last stint in 2005.
The women’s ICC T20 women’s world Cup 2020 broke all previous records and emerged as a huge success. It was conducted in Australia and ended with the home country emerging victorious. Australia is widely considered to be the most successful team in the business, having wielded the trophy a record five times. Thailand also made their debut in the series as they played their first tournament.
The women’s T20 World Cup 2020 drew a 1.1 billion viewership worldwide, with 5.4 viewing minutes in India alone. It proved the vast scope and audience drawing power of women’s cricket. It is the most-watched women’s cricketing event drawing 20 times more viewership than the previous edition.
These numbers prove the tremendous potential the ICC T20 women’s World Cup 2022 has. South African skipper Dane Van Niekerk is preparing for it already to ensure the Proteas win the trophy. The team will automatically qualify as they are hosting the event. Information and details of the schedule and venues are yet to be decided.
In the previous series, India and Australia qualified for the finale and a nail-biting final match on women’s day, and March 8th had the whole world watching. Australia finally clinched victory over India by an impressive 85 runs.
The Proteas team were in great form and top shape throughout the series and made it up to the semi-final match with ease. In the semi-final against Australia despite the best efforts of the South African team, the Australian’s won on their home ground by an extremely close margin of five runs.
A picture of a heartbroken Dane Van Niekerk went viral online after the match. This time the South African team would be hoping for an advantage, playing in their home country.
The ICC T20 women’s world cup broke all expectations and trends, drawing a huge crowd, proving the actual demand and interest in women’s sport. The ICC T20 women’s world cup 2022 has the power and potential to dethrone its predecessor, and all we need to do is wait and watch