The Men’s and Women’s National Team Captains have spoken of their joy at the scheduled return of international cricket in 2021, with USA Cricket also delighted as the ICC has awarded the hosting of both the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier and the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Americas Qualifier in 2021 to the United States.
There have been five significant announcements from the ICC over the course of the last week with the headline details as follows:
USA will host an expanded four team ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier in September 2021 with one team qualifying from Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Team USA for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier to be held in 2022.
The complete schedule for ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 has been announced, with three places up for grabs still from the ICC qualifying tournament which is confirmed to take place 26 June – 10 July 2021 in Sri Lanka, that Team USA will be playing in.
USA will play host to the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Americas Qualifier, as four countries – Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, USA – will battle it out to take the one qualification spot from the Americas.
USA Men’s National Team will need to get through a two-step process in their bid to qualify for the Men’s T20 World Cup for the first time with the journey starting with an 8 team Qualifier in Canada in July 2021. If USA can finish in the top 2 places there, they will progress to either the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier ‘A’ or ‘B’, which will both have 2 places at Australia 2022 up for grabs.
USA Men’s National Team will return to international cricket after more than a 12 month break in play due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the amended schedule for the ICC Cricket World Cup League now confirmed.
USA Cricket Chief Executive, Iain Higgins, said, “It is a major development to have been awarded the hosting of two of the three Regional ICC Qualifying Events in 2021 and reflects a strong endorsement of the progress we have been making despite a very challenging 12 months.
Higgins continued, “Alongside the news of hosting these two events, there have been critical announcements for the Men’s National Team - with the pathway confirmed for the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia 2022 and the amended schedule for ICC Cricket World Cup League on the Road to India 2023. And the Women’s National Team has another crucial tournament to set their sights on, with the rescheduled Women’s ODI World Cup Qualifier in Sri Lanka becoming a key focus for their year.
Team USA Women’s Captain, Sindhu Sriharsha said, “It’s been a year unlike any other, but we have been doing a huge amount together, just virtually, with our Team’s training moving entirely online. We are so happy to have confirmed fixtures on the horizon now, with the Americas Qualifier for the T20 World Cup being preceded by the 50 Over Women's World Cup Global Qualifier in Sri Lanka.
Team USA Men’s Captain, Saurabh Netravalkar said, “There is no doubt it has been an incredibly challenging year for everyone in the wider American cricketing community. The news this week of the return of international cricket in 2021 is something that gives us great hope and plenty to look forward to in the new year.
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
#Cricketnews #CricketUSA
