The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday (August 16) unveiled the first-ever Women's Future Tours Programme (FTP) that features bilateral international tours for 10 teams over the next three years and includes all three formats of the game.

“The women's FTP reveals the international obligations for all sides until the end of April in 2025, leading up to the ICC Women’s World Cup in India,” ICC’s media release stated.

Overall, more than 300 international women's fixtures will be played during the period, which features a total of 7 Tests, 135 ODIs and 159 T20Is.

“Teams will play three-match bilateral ODI series as part of the 2022-25 ICC Women's Championships, ahead of the next women’s 50-over World Cup in India in 2025.”

“Many of those three-game ODI series are accompanied by corresponding T20I series, with some teams opting to play five-game T20I series alongside the ICC Women's Championships fixtures.”

“All bilateral T20I matches count towards respective team rankings, which in turn serves as a primary mechanism for determining the teams that qualify for ICC global events,” ICC said.

One of the highlights of the women’s calendar is India will be hosting both England and Australia for one Test each in December 2023.

Among the fixtures are two multi-format Ashes series during the period, comprising one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. While the first one will be played in England in June 2023, the other will be held in Australia in January 2025.

ICC General Manager of Cricket, Wasim Khan, said the confirmation of the first-ever women’s FTP was a watershed moment for women’s cricket.

“This is a huge moment for the women’s game,” Khan said. “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.”

(With ICC inputs)