Inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup - Roadmap


Written By: Ritwika Dhar
Date: 10-11-2022

Picture Courtesy: BCCI

The first-ever ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup is going to take place in South Africa in January 2023. It is scheduled between January 14 and January 29. The inaugural edition will take place in the T20 format. It differs from the Men's competition which is played in the 50 overs format, but the T20 format is a great way to involve more countries in the game who mostly play T20s and don't have a quality domestic structure like most of the developed cricketing nations have. For instance, Pakistan launched its inaugural women’s under-19 tournament in August comprising 6 teams. The pathway to Pakistan’s women’s senior team had till then been vague, with two senior-level tournaments and no under-19 domestic competition.

HOSTS:

Originally, the tournament was scheduled to take place in January 2021, before being moved to December 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the World Cup was postponed for the 2nd time and was moved to January 2023 with the host nation being changed from Bangladesh to South Africa. This means that South Africa will be hosting back-to-back major ICC women's events - The Under-19 World Cup in January and the Women's T20 World Cup in February. 

QUALIFICATION PROCESS:

In June 2022, ICC confirmed the qualification process wherein the hosts, South Africa along with Australia, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Ireland qualified automatically for the tournament. The United States of America also qualified automatically as they were the only eligible ICC member in the Americas regional group that was able to meet the qualification standards for the World Cup. So, to determine the remaining 4 spots, a series of regional qualification tournaments took place around the globe.

Africa regional qualifier: Hosted by Botswana in September 2022 where 9 teams - Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda were divided into two groups. Rwanda and Tanzania locked horns in the final after defeating Uganda and Namibia in the semis respectively. Rwanda came out at the top being the champions, defeating Tanzania in the final by 6 wickets. The Rwandan women’s under-19 side became the 1st team to qualify for a cricket World Cup in any format.

Asian qualifier: Hosted by Malaysia in June 2022. It was in a round-robin league format where 6 teams - UAE, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia, and Qatar participated. UAE and Thailand were undefeated going to their final round-robin game and UAE eventually defeated Thailand by six wickets and qualified for the World Cup. This was the 1st time a UAE women’s side qualified for a World Cup.

East Asia-Pacific qualifier: Hosted by Indonesia where Indonesia and Papua New Guinea were the only participating teams from that region. So, it was a three-match series between them where the hosts won it by a 2-1 margin and qualified for the World Cup. Just like Rwanda, the Indonesian women’s under-19 side also became the first team to be representing Indonesia in a Cricket World Cup.
 
Europe Qualifier: Hosted by the Netherlands who were up against Scotland in a 3-match series. It was clinched by Scotland at the end by a margin of 3-0.


GROUPS:

Group A: Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, United States of America 
Group B: England, Pakistan, Rwanda, Zimbabwe
Group C: Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand, West Indies
Group D: India, Scotland, South Africa, United Arab Emirates

SCHEDULE & FORMAT:

Here's the whole schedule of the World Cup: U-19 WC Schedule

The competition format is - 16 teams divided into 4 groups. The top 3 from each group will qualify for the Super Six League stage (2 groups of 6 teams each). Qualifying teams from Group A will play against 2 of the qualifying teams from Group D, and qualifying teams from Group B will play against 2 of the qualifying teams of Group C. The top 2 sides from each of the two Super Six groups will progress to the semi-finals, with the final taking place on 29th January.

SQUADS:

On October 18, England became the first team to announce the U19 World Cup squad.

England U19 T20 WC squad: Ellie Anderson, Hannah Baker, Josie Groves, Liberty Heap, Niamh Holland, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Emma Marlow, Charis Pavely, Davina Perrin, Lizzie Scott, Grace Scrivens, Sophia Smale, Seren Smale, Alexa Stonehouse, Maddie Ward

England left out the 17-year-old left-arm pace all-rounder, Freya Kemp, and 18-year-old spin all-rounder, Alice Capsey for the tournament. We can assume that both the players are quite established in the senior team and almost surely going to be a part of the T20 World Cup next year in February which is going to be played just after the U19 World Cup finishes. The workload management could have also been a potential reason behind their exclusion.
On the other hand, India and Ireland have not only included their teenage internationals into their U19 sides, but also going to lead their respective sides. Shafali Verma will be captaining team India and wicket-batter Richa Ghosh too has been added to the squad. Amy Hunter will be leading the charge of the Ireland side. Inclusion of the internationals will not only add a brand value to the inaugural women’s U19 T20WC, but also it will surely boost their chances to lift the World Cup. 

India: Shafali Verma (C), Shweta Sehrawat (VC), Richa Ghosh (WK), G Trisha, Soumya Tiwari, Sonia Mehdiya, Hurley Gala, Hrishita Basu (WK), Sonam Yadav, Mannat Kashyap, Archana Devi, Parshavi Chopra, Titas Sadhu, Falak Naz, Shabnam MD.
Standby- Shikha, Najla CMC, Yashashree.

South Africa: Elandri Janse Van Rensburg, Simone Lourens, Anica Swart, Karabo Meso, Madison Landsman (VC), Oluhle Siyo (C), Kayla Reyneke, Jenna Evans, Miane Smit, Ayanda Hlubi, Seshnie Naidu, Refilwe Moncho, Mona Lisa Legodi, Nthabiseng Nini, Jemma Botha.
Non-traveling reserves: Caitlin Wyngaard, Diara Ramlakan

Ireland: Amy Hunter (c), Siúin Wood (vc), Zara Craig, Georgina Dempsey, Rebecca Gough, Abbi Harrison, Jennifer Jackson, Joanna Loughran, Niamh MacNulty, Aimee Maguire, Kia McCartney, Ellie McGee, Julie McNally, Freya Sargent, Annabel Squires.
Non-travelling reserves: Aoife Fisher, Alice Walsh.

Pakistan: Aroob Shah (c), Aliza Khan, Anosha Nasir, Areesha Noor, Eyman Fatima, Haleema Azeem Dar, Haniah Ahmer, Laiba Nasir, Mahnoor Aftab, Quratulain Ahsen, Rida Aslam, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Warda Yousaf, Zaib-un-Nisa, Zamina Tahir
Reserves: Aqsa Yousaf, Dina Razvi, Maham Anees, Muskan Abid, Tahzeeb Shah 

West Indies: Ashmini Munisar (c), Asabi Callendar, Jahzara Claxton, Naijanni Cumberbatch, Earnisha Fontaine, Jannillea Glasgow, Realanna Grimmond, Trishan Holder, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, K D Jazz Mitchell, Shalini Samaroo, Shunelle Sawh, Lena Scott, Abini St Jean.

Scotland: Katherine Fraser (c), Ailsa Lister (vc)(wk), Molly Barbour-Smith, Olivia Bell, Darcey Carter, Maryam Faisal, Maisie Maceira, Orla Montgomery, Niamh Muir, Molly Paton, Niamh Robertson-Jack, Nayma Sheikh, Anne Sturgess, Emily Tucker, Emma Walsingham.

Australia: Chloe Ainsworth, Jade Allen, Charis Bekker, Paris Bowdler, Maggie Clark, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Ella Hayward, Milly Illingworth, Eleanor Larosa, Rhys McKenna, Claire Moore, Kate Pelle, Amy Smith, Ella Wilson.
Non-travelling reserves: Paris Hall, Samira Dimeglio, Sara Kennedy, Olivia Henry, Ananaya Sharma.

USA: Geetika Kodali (c), Anika Kolan, Aditi Chudasama, Bhumika Bhadriraju, Disha Dhingra, Isani Vaghela, Jivana Aras, Laasya Mullapudi, Pooja Ganesh, Pooja Shah, Ritu Singh, Sai Tanmayi Eyyunni, Snigdha Paul, Suhani Thadani, Taranum Chopra.
Reserves: Chetnaa Prasad, Kasturi Vedantham, Lisa Ramjit, Mitali Patwardhan, Tya Gonsalves.

New Zealand: Olivia Anderson, Anna Browning, Kate Chandler, Natasha Codyre, Isabella Gaze, Antonia Hamilton, Abigail Hotton, Breearne Illing, Fran Jonas, Kayley Knight, Paige Loggenberg, Emma McLeod, Georgia Plimmer, Izzy Sharp, Tash Wakelin. 

Rwanda: Gisele Ishimwe (c), Merveille Uwase, Henriette Isimbi, Marie Jose Tumukunde, Giovannis Uwase, Sharila Niyomuhoza, Sylvia Usabyimana, Henriette Therese Ishimwe, Divine Gihozo Ishimwe, Belyse Murekatete, Cynthia Uwera, Cesarie Muragajimana, Rosine Uwera, Cynthia Uwera, Zurafat Ishimwe.

UAE: Theertha Satish (c), Vaishnave Mahesh, Samaira Dharnidharka, Lavanya Keny, Sanchin Singh, Rinita Rajith, Induja Nandakumar, Siya Gokhale, Mahika Gaur, Avni Sunil Patil, Archana Supriya, Rishitha Rajith, Geethika Jyothis, Sanjana Ramesh, Ishitha Zahra.

Zimbabwe: Kelis Ndhlovu, Kellly Ndiraya, adel Zimunhu, Natasha Mutomba, Vimbai Mutungwindu, Danielle Meikle, Tawananyasha Marumani, Michelle Mavunga, Olinda Chare, Kudzai Chigora, Betty Mangachena, Chipo Moyo, Faith Ndhlalambi, Rukudzo Mwakayeni. 
 
Bangladesh: Disha Biswas (c), Shorna Akter, Rabeya, Marufa Akter, Dilara Akter, Misty Rany Saha, Reya Akter Shika, Sumaiya Akter,  Afia Humaira Anam Prottasha, Mst Unnoti Akter, Mst Dipa Khatun, Leky Chakma, Asrafi Yeasmin Arthy, Jannatul Maoua, Mst Eva.
Stand-by: Suborna Kormakar, Nishita Akter Nishi, Mst Rabaya Khatun, Juairiya Ferdous.

Other squads will be updated as and when announced.


Inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup - Roadmap


Written By: Ritwika Dhar
Date: 10-11-2022

Picture Courtesy: BCCI

The first-ever ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup is going to take place in South Africa in January 2023. It is scheduled between January 14 and January 29. The inaugural edition will take place in the T20 format. It differs from the Men's competition which is played in the 50 overs format, but the T20 format is a great way to involve more countries in the game who mostly play T20s and don't have a quality domestic structure like most of the developed cricketing nations have. For instance, Pakistan launched its inaugural women’s under-19 tournament in August comprising 6 teams. The pathway to Pakistan’s women’s senior team had till then been vague, with two senior-level tournaments and no under-19 domestic competition.

HOSTS:

Originally, the tournament was scheduled to take place in January 2021, before being moved to December 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the World Cup was postponed for the 2nd time and was moved to January 2023 with the host nation being changed from Bangladesh to South Africa. This means that South Africa will be hosting back-to-back major ICC women's events - The Under-19 World Cup in January and the Women's T20 World Cup in February. 

QUALIFICATION PROCESS:

In June 2022, ICC confirmed the qualification process wherein the hosts, South Africa along with Australia, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Ireland qualified automatically for the tournament. The United States of America also qualified automatically as they were the only eligible ICC member in the Americas regional group that was able to meet the qualification standards for the World Cup. So, to determine the remaining 4 spots, a series of regional qualification tournaments took place around the globe.

Africa regional qualifier: Hosted by Botswana in September 2022 where 9 teams - Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda were divided into two groups. Rwanda and Tanzania locked horns in the final after defeating Uganda and Namibia in the semis respectively. Rwanda came out at the top being the champions, defeating Tanzania in the final by 6 wickets. The Rwandan women’s under-19 side became the 1st team to qualify for a cricket World Cup in any format.

Asian qualifier: Hosted by Malaysia in June 2022. It was in a round-robin league format where 6 teams - UAE, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia, and Qatar participated. UAE and Thailand were undefeated going to their final round-robin game and UAE eventually defeated Thailand by six wickets and qualified for the World Cup. This was the 1st time a UAE women’s side qualified for a World Cup.

East Asia-Pacific qualifier: Hosted by Indonesia where Indonesia and Papua New Guinea were the only participating teams from that region. So, it was a three-match series between them where the hosts won it by a 2-1 margin and qualified for the World Cup. Just like Rwanda, the Indonesian women’s under-19 side also became the first team to be representing Indonesia in a Cricket World Cup.
 
Europe Qualifier: Hosted by the Netherlands who were up against Scotland in a 3-match series. It was clinched by Scotland at the end by a margin of 3-0.


GROUPS:

Group A: Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, United States of America 
Group B: England, Pakistan, Rwanda, Zimbabwe
Group C: Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand, West Indies
Group D: India, Scotland, South Africa, United Arab Emirates

SCHEDULE & FORMAT:

Here's the whole schedule of the World Cup: U-19 WC Schedule

The competition format is - 16 teams divided into 4 groups. The top 3 from each group will qualify for the Super Six League stage (2 groups of 6 teams each). Qualifying teams from Group A will play against 2 of the qualifying teams from Group D, and qualifying teams from Group B will play against 2 of the qualifying teams of Group C. The top 2 sides from each of the two Super Six groups will progress to the semi-finals, with the final taking place on 29th January.

SQUADS:

On October 18, England became the first team to announce the U19 World Cup squad.

England U19 T20 WC squad: Ellie Anderson, Hannah Baker, Josie Groves, Liberty Heap, Niamh Holland, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Emma Marlow, Charis Pavely, Davina Perrin, Lizzie Scott, Grace Scrivens, Sophia Smale, Seren Smale, Alexa Stonehouse, Maddie Ward

England left out the 17-year-old left-arm pace all-rounder, Freya Kemp, and 18-year-old spin all-rounder, Alice Capsey for the tournament. We can assume that both the players are quite established in the senior team and almost surely going to be a part of the T20 World Cup next year in February which is going to be played just after the U19 World Cup finishes. The workload management could have also been a potential reason behind their exclusion.
On the other hand, India and Ireland have not only included their teenage internationals into their U19 sides, but also going to lead their respective sides. Shafali Verma will be captaining team India and wicket-batter Richa Ghosh too has been added to the squad. Amy Hunter will be leading the charge of the Ireland side. Inclusion of the internationals will not only add a brand value to the inaugural women’s U19 T20WC, but also it will surely boost their chances to lift the World Cup. 

India: Shafali Verma (C), Shweta Sehrawat (VC), Richa Ghosh (WK), G Trisha, Soumya Tiwari, Sonia Mehdiya, Hurley Gala, Hrishita Basu (WK), Sonam Yadav, Mannat Kashyap, Archana Devi, Parshavi Chopra, Titas Sadhu, Falak Naz, Shabnam MD.
Standby- Shikha, Najla CMC, Yashashree.

South Africa: Elandri Janse Van Rensburg, Simone Lourens, Anica Swart, Karabo Meso, Madison Landsman (VC), Oluhle Siyo (C), Kayla Reyneke, Jenna Evans, Miane Smit, Ayanda Hlubi, Seshnie Naidu, Refilwe Moncho, Mona Lisa Legodi, Nthabiseng Nini, Jemma Botha.
Non-traveling reserves: Caitlin Wyngaard, Diara Ramlakan

Ireland: Amy Hunter (c), Siúin Wood (vc), Zara Craig, Georgina Dempsey, Rebecca Gough, Abbi Harrison, Jennifer Jackson, Joanna Loughran, Niamh MacNulty, Aimee Maguire, Kia McCartney, Ellie McGee, Julie McNally, Freya Sargent, Annabel Squires.
Non-travelling reserves: Aoife Fisher, Alice Walsh.

Pakistan: Aroob Shah (c), Aliza Khan, Anosha Nasir, Areesha Noor, Eyman Fatima, Haleema Azeem Dar, Haniah Ahmer, Laiba Nasir, Mahnoor Aftab, Quratulain Ahsen, Rida Aslam, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Warda Yousaf, Zaib-un-Nisa, Zamina Tahir
Reserves: Aqsa Yousaf, Dina Razvi, Maham Anees, Muskan Abid, Tahzeeb Shah 

West Indies: Ashmini Munisar (c), Asabi Callendar, Jahzara Claxton, Naijanni Cumberbatch, Earnisha Fontaine, Jannillea Glasgow, Realanna Grimmond, Trishan Holder, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, K D Jazz Mitchell, Shalini Samaroo, Shunelle Sawh, Lena Scott, Abini St Jean.

Scotland: Katherine Fraser (c), Ailsa Lister (vc)(wk), Molly Barbour-Smith, Olivia Bell, Darcey Carter, Maryam Faisal, Maisie Maceira, Orla Montgomery, Niamh Muir, Molly Paton, Niamh Robertson-Jack, Nayma Sheikh, Anne Sturgess, Emily Tucker, Emma Walsingham.

Australia: Chloe Ainsworth, Jade Allen, Charis Bekker, Paris Bowdler, Maggie Clark, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Ella Hayward, Milly Illingworth, Eleanor Larosa, Rhys McKenna, Claire Moore, Kate Pelle, Amy Smith, Ella Wilson.
Non-travelling reserves: Paris Hall, Samira Dimeglio, Sara Kennedy, Olivia Henry, Ananaya Sharma.

USA: Geetika Kodali (c), Anika Kolan, Aditi Chudasama, Bhumika Bhadriraju, Disha Dhingra, Isani Vaghela, Jivana Aras, Laasya Mullapudi, Pooja Ganesh, Pooja Shah, Ritu Singh, Sai Tanmayi Eyyunni, Snigdha Paul, Suhani Thadani, Taranum Chopra.
Reserves: Chetnaa Prasad, Kasturi Vedantham, Lisa Ramjit, Mitali Patwardhan, Tya Gonsalves.

New Zealand: Olivia Anderson, Anna Browning, Kate Chandler, Natasha Codyre, Isabella Gaze, Antonia Hamilton, Abigail Hotton, Breearne Illing, Fran Jonas, Kayley Knight, Paige Loggenberg, Emma McLeod, Georgia Plimmer, Izzy Sharp, Tash Wakelin. 

Rwanda: Gisele Ishimwe (c), Merveille Uwase, Henriette Isimbi, Marie Jose Tumukunde, Giovannis Uwase, Sharila Niyomuhoza, Sylvia Usabyimana, Henriette Therese Ishimwe, Divine Gihozo Ishimwe, Belyse Murekatete, Cynthia Uwera, Cesarie Muragajimana, Rosine Uwera, Cynthia Uwera, Zurafat Ishimwe.

UAE: Theertha Satish (c), Vaishnave Mahesh, Samaira Dharnidharka, Lavanya Keny, Sanchin Singh, Rinita Rajith, Induja Nandakumar, Siya Gokhale, Mahika Gaur, Avni Sunil Patil, Archana Supriya, Rishitha Rajith, Geethika Jyothis, Sanjana Ramesh, Ishitha Zahra.

Zimbabwe: Kelis Ndhlovu, Kellly Ndiraya, adel Zimunhu, Natasha Mutomba, Vimbai Mutungwindu, Danielle Meikle, Tawananyasha Marumani, Michelle Mavunga, Olinda Chare, Kudzai Chigora, Betty Mangachena, Chipo Moyo, Faith Ndhlalambi, Rukudzo Mwakayeni. 
 
Bangladesh: Disha Biswas (c), Shorna Akter, Rabeya, Marufa Akter, Dilara Akter, Misty Rany Saha, Reya Akter Shika, Sumaiya Akter,  Afia Humaira Anam Prottasha, Mst Unnoti Akter, Mst Dipa Khatun, Leky Chakma, Asrafi Yeasmin Arthy, Jannatul Maoua, Mst Eva.
Stand-by: Suborna Kormakar, Nishita Akter Nishi, Mst Rabaya Khatun, Juairiya Ferdous.

Other squads will be updated as and when announced.