The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Monday (October 14), announced at the board meeting in Dubai the launch of the Under-19 World Cup for the Women with the first edition of the mega event to be played in Bangladesh in 2021 and once every two years.
Also, the cricket’s governing body announced the eight-year cricketing cycle starting from 2023, including one major men's and women's ICC event every year along with four events each for Under-19 men and women cricketers on Monday.
In a major and added boost to women's cricket, the ICC has also decided to increase the prize money by 320% for the upcoming 2020 T20I World Cup in Australia, as the winners and runners up will now receive $1 million and $500,000 respectively; five times the amount on offer in 2018. While the prize money for the 50-over World Cup in 2021 will be USD 3.5 million, which was $2m in 2017 edition.
ICC chairman Shashank Manohar said about the development: “In examining a whole range of options, the Board felt a major Men's and Women's event each year will bring consistency to our calendar whilst complementing bilateral cricket, giving our sport a strong future foundation. It will provide clear structure and context to enable the growth of the sport and greater engagement opportunities for all of our stakeholders. The move towards a bidding model will give equal opportunities to all Members to host ICC events post 2023.”
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While ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said: “We have already stated our long-term commitment to reach parity across men's and women's cricket as part of a broader plan to grow and develop the women's game. We want to build a long-term sustainable foundation for women's cricket and that is about more than just prize money. It is about building a product that fans want to watch, that kids want to take up, that sponsors and broadcasters want to be part of.”
Sawhney added, “Creating a Women's U19 event also improves the pathway available to young cricketers and ensures they have the same opportunities as their male counterparts. This is a journey we started in earnest in 2017 and next year it's our ambition to fill the MCG on International Women's Day for the final of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 which would be a world record for a women's sporting event. This significant increase in prize money and the introduction of a Women's U19 event is part of a much larger effort to grow the women's game around the world.”
Meanwhile, Cricket Australia also announced that they will add extra to the ICC’s prize money, as the board decided to add another USD 600000 if the national women's team goes on to retain the T20 World Cup next year at home.
CA chief executive Kevin Roberts told media on Monday, “We want to continue our commitment to equality by ensuring that any prize money earned by the Australian Women's team in the T20 World Cup is the same as what is on offer in the men's side of the tournament. This will include matching the prize money for the final, semi-finals, or group stage.”
Roberts signed off by saying, “The quality and skill level of the women's game continues to grow and that was witnessed firsthand last week with the team breaking another world record, winning 18 consecutive ODI matches.”
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
