IRELAND HAS BEEN chosen to host the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Global Qualifier next summer.
The tournament, which is due to take place in July/August 2013, will see Ireland’s women battle it out against seven other nations for the final place at the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh.
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Canada, Japan and the Netherlands are among the countries Ireland will face.
Announcing the decision, ICC Global Development Manager Tim Anderson said that Ireland’s track record of staging events was an important factor in deciding the tournament hosts. Ireland has previously held the 2005 ICC Trophy, the 2008 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers and the 2010 ICC Under 19 Global Qualifiers.
Women’s captain Isobel Joyce welcomed today’s news, describing it as a “great lift” for everyone involved in Irish cricket.
“It’s a great incentive for the players to have the chance to make it to the final stages of a global event,” Joyce said.
“We’re already training hard for the event and while it’s obviously a big advantage to be playing in our conditions, we know it’ll be very difficult against teams of the quality of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Having said that, we’ve a fantastic balance in the squad now of youth and experience and there’s no reason why we can’t grab the last slot on offer.”
