ECB Seals Womens T20 Wc Hosting Duties
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will be held in England and Wales.
The success of the England & Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) bid to host the competition means it will host another global women’s cricket competition less than a decade since it did so for the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2017. England won that tournament after beating India in the final at a sold-out Lords.
With transforming women’s and girls’ cricket being one of the key pillars of the ECB’s Inspiring Generations strategy, hosting the competition is seen as another opportunity to boost the growth of the game.
Clare Connor, ECB Interim Chief Executive Officer, said, “We’re absolutely delighted that we’ve been selected to host the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
“We saw back in 2017 how hosting the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup captured people’s imagination and I’ll never forget watching Heather Knight lift the trophy on that magical day at a sold-out Lord’s.
“Women’s cricket has developed rapidly since then, from the numbers of girls picking up bats through All Stars and Dynamos, joining clubs, and being able to progress on a pathway to the highest levels of performance. We’re seeing right now the positive impact that the UEFA Women’s Euro is having for football, and hosting this global cricket event will give us another incredible opportunity to inspire even more girls to pick up a bat and ball.”
Martin Darlow, ECB Interim Chair, added, “This is a huge year for women’s cricket in our country, with England women competing in the Commonwealth Games for the first time, the second year of The Hundred following straight after and then England and India meeting at Lord’s as part of our white ball series.
“The women’s game is growing at a remarkable pace, and hosting the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will give a further boost to our strategy to make cricket a gender-balanced sport. This is a really exciting opportunity.”
The ICC also announced that Bangladesh will host the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, India will host the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, and Sri Lanka will host the ICC Women’s T20 Champions Trophy 2027.
Greg Barclay, ICC Chair, said, “We are delighted to have awarded ICC women’s white ball events to Bangladesh, India, England and Sri Lanka. Accelerating the growth of the women’s game is one of the ICC’s strategic priorities and taking these events to some of our sport’s biggest markets give us a fantastic opportunity to do that and deepen its connection with cricket’s 1 billion plus fans.”
The news comes as England Women prepare to compete in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, with women’s cricket featuring for the first time, another sign of the growth in its popularity.
Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston added, “A decade on from London 2012 and ahead of women’s T20 cricket taking place at the Commonwealth Games from this weekend, I’m delighted that the ICC has recognised the UK’s reputation as a host of major sporting events and champion for women’s sport.“
The ECB will also be preparing for a men’s tournament over the next few years after it was announced in November last year that the ECB would host the 2030 Men’s T20 World Cup, alongside Ireland and Scotland.
