The Commonwealth Games is an event that happens every four years and consists of various sporting events. It is usually held between the Olympics. Just like the Olympics, the list of sports comes and goes, and the sports that will be participating in the Commonwealth Games will be determined by the host city. This year’s Commonwealth Games is momentous as it includes women’s cricket for the very first time. Therefore, cricketing nations and cricket fans from all over the world will have something to look forward to this year. The tournament will start on July 29, 2022 and will commence on August 7, 2022. It consists of 16 matches at Edgbaston.
The Commonwealth Games rules state that all primary Commonwealth sports must be hosted, but the local organizing committee can add sports. In November 2018, the ICC and the ECB both bid for a women’s Twenty20 tournament to be added to the Commonwealth Games. The bid was successful and now includes a women’s Twenty20 tournament in the Commonwealth 2022. Many cricket bodies, like the Marylebone Cricket Club, hope that they will eventually include cricket in the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The tournament follows a Twenty20 format and will be held at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham. There are eight teams playing in the qualifying round and they are split into two groups of four. The top two teams proceed to the semi-finals, and the winners of the semi-finals will compete against each other in the final round. Teams that will not make it to the semi-finals will face off, and the winner will be the third place.
The first group consists of the following teams:
The second group consists of the following teams:
England automatically qualifies because it is the host of the event. The rest of the teams were cast according to their performance in the T20 international side in April 2021. They are India, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and Barbados. There was also a Commonwealth Games Qualifier held in Malaysia last January, 2022, and Sri Lanka emerged victorious. It defeated the teams of Malaysia, Scotland, Kenya, and Bangladesh.
The inaugural match will take place on Friday, July 29, 2022 and it will be played by the team of India and Australia. The Australia’s women cricket team has been number one T20 team. On the other hand, India ranked fourth. It will be extremely challenging for India considering that it will go against the top team in the inaugural match.
It is without a doubt that Australia is the favourite for this year’s tournament. It isn’t surprising to know why. Australia’s cricket team has been dominating cricket tournaments for the past years. It won the title at the ODI World Cup and the MCG in 2020. It is eager to add the inaugural Commonwealth Games title in its amazing winning record.