Indian women’s cricket team to host Tests against Australia, and England in 2023-24
Indian women’s cricket team to host Tests against Australia, and England in 2023-24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on the 16th of August, Tuesday, has announced the first-ever Women’s Future Tours Programme (FTP). This confirms the bilateral international tours for 10 teams for the next three years and incorporates all three formats of the game.
“A result of a joint effort from Members, the FTP ensures more matches for teams with the enhancement of the ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) to a 10-team event. With teams featuring in more matches across formats in bilateral series, over 300 matches will be played as part of the 2022-25 FTP,” stated an official release.
There are seven Tests stretched in the 2022-25 period. India is set to host both England and Australia for one Test each in December 2023.
Indian women’s team will play 2 Tests, 24 One Day Internationals, and 36 T20 from August 2022 to January 2025.
Among the fixtures, there are two multi-format Ashes series during the period that comprises one Test, three ODIs, and three T20Is each – one in England in the month of June 2023. The other will be in Australia in January 2025. The three ODIs in the first series are a part of the ICC Women’s Championship. This step is going to provide direct qualification for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in India.
Australia is the reigning World champion of both the 50-over and 20-over formats. The team is the winner of both previous editions of the IWC. the commitments for the team include an away series of a Test, three ODIs, and three T20Is in India in the month of December 2023. Their schedule also includes the IWC home series. They will play a three-match home series. These matches are not part of an IWC tour against New Zealand in March 2025.
England, India, and South Africa are the other teams that will schedule Tests during this period. A few other teams have planned five-match T20I series.
England will be playing against New Zealand in both a home and away series of three ODIs and five T20Is. India will be playing three T20Is each scheduled along with their IWC series against Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the West Indies.
The West Indies will be playing five T20Is at home against Ireland. The team will have three T20Is in Australia. The team will be in five matches in Pakistan, three matches in Sri Lanka, and three matches each at home against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh will be playing three T20Is each against South Africa and the West Indies (January 25). Ireland will be having five T20Is against the West Indies in June 2023. Ireland will play three home T20Is against England on September 24, and three away T20 Internationals against India, in January ’25. Five T20 Internationals away will be played against Bangladesh in December ’24.
Sri Lanka will be playing three T20Is each against Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the West Indies.
ICC General Manager of Cricket, Wasim Khan, said that the first-ever women’s FTP was a watershed moment for women’s cricket.
“This is a huge moment for the women’s game. This FTP not only lends certainty to future cricket tours but also sets the base for a structure that is sure to grow in the coming years,” ICC GM of Cricket Wasim Khan said.
“The ICC Women’s Championship, which underpins the FTP, is instrumental in propelling the game to the next level and the competitive matches that we saw in this year’s World Cup in New Zealand were a result of the greater number of matches that women have got to play because of the IWC,” Khan said.
“I thank the Member Boards for helping draft this historic FTP, which I am sure will go a long way in taking the women’s game to the next level,” he added.