The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket Australia (CA) announced the match schedule and venues for the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup today, with Sydney, Canberra, and regional NSW to host the top eight nations in women’s cricket next March.
The 25-match tournament will be played at six venues in Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle and Bowral from 7-22 March. Australia and India are the tournament’s top two seeds, with New Zealand and England viewed as the other two main chances for the title.
As the tournament’s top-ranked team, the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars have been placed in Group A along with New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa. Group B contains India, England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars will open their World Cup defence with a Trans Tasman clash against New Zealand on 8 March at North Sydney Oval before completing their Group A commitments with matches against South Africa and West Indies in Newcastle and Drummoyne.
Providing they make it through their Group matches to the Super Sixes stage, the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars will play three more matches before the final and playoff matches.
“Hosting the World Cup is a fantastic opportunity for Cricket Australia and Cricket New South Wales and we can’t wait to welcome the world’s cricket community to Australia next March,” Cricket Australia CEO, James Sutherland, said.
“With the generous support provided by the NSW Government, the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup will set a new benchmark for the promotion and staging of women’s cricket.
“It’s an exciting time for women’s cricket in Australia, with the recent announcement of increased support for our elite players and CA’s Females in Cricket Strategy helping to engage more females across all levels of the game.”
Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars captain, Karen Rolton, who scored a match-winning 107 not out in the 2005 World Cup final to help Australia to victory, said the players can’t wait to defend their crown on home soil.
“The players are excited at the chance to play at home. The quality of cricket has improved a lot since the last World Cup and there are a number of teams now that will be a serious threat next March,” she said.
“There have been a lot of changes on and off the field over the past two years, with new players and coaches coming into the group. However I know the girls are training hard to make sure we’re as ready as possible to defend the World Cup.”
New Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars coach, Richard McInnes, who only started in the role on Tuesday, is aware of the challenges that await his team.
“Even though we’re the defending champions, there are only a handful of players remaining in the squad from the last World Cup, so we’re starting from a low experience level in this type of cricket,” he said.
“The fact the standard of cricket has improved worldwide over the last three or four years in terms of professionalism and performance means that we will have to lift accordingly to be successful.
“The teams that reach the final will play seven matches in 16 days, so it will be vitally important we prepare well. We’ve got series against India and New Zealand in the lead-up to make sure we enter the tournament ready for our title defence.”
Next year’s World Cup will be the first played under the auspices of the ICC and the ninth overall. Australia is the defending champion and have claimed women’s cricket’s ultimate prize on five occasions, including a 1988 victory in Melbourne.
Cricket New South Wales won the right to host the ICC Women’s World Cup after a tender process last year.
The full match schedule for the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup can be found on the Cricket Australia website, www.cricket.com.au.
