Five Associate women’s teams awarded ODI status

Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand and the USA have all had their status upgraded as part of the revamping of the ICC Cricket World Cup pathway.

In the short term the news means that all five teams will see their performances in one-day games count towards qualification for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

"Awarding ODI status to five additional teams will help us to accelerate the growth of the women’s game," said ICC CEO Geoff Allardice.

"More teams playing more regularly creates a more competitive environment as we saw at the recent ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.

“Good luck to Netherlands, PNG, Scotland, Thailand and the USA on what I hope will be a great opportunity to develop in 50-over cricket in their countries."

One of the five new ODI nations, Thailand, have emerged as a significant force over recent years, qualifying for the 2020 T20 World Cup and performing strongly in the Covid-impacted qualification process for the last 50-over World Cup.

"We like to play cricket with an aggressive brand," Thailand head coach Harshal Pathak told AFP earlier this year.

"There's an intent in everything - the way we bat, the way we field, the way we bowl. There's a business-like attitude. The girls want to make a mark for themselves."

The news comes on the same day as the ICC announced the new edition of the ICC Women’s Championship, which will feature two new teams in Bangladesh and Ireland, taking the total nations competing up to ten.

Each team will play eight three-match series in the Championship over the next three years, with the top five teams and the hosts qualifying for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, with the remaining teams going into the qualifying competition.

"The third edition of the Championship is going to be really exciting," Australia captain Meg Lanning said.

“To have Bangladesh and Ireland involved, will not only be great for us to have the chance to play more cricket against them, but also to expose them to more cricket against the top nations.

"We want to see the women’s game as strong as possible and developing the next tier of nations is a big part of that.”

England captain Heather Knight echoed the sentiments of her Australian counterpart:

"The ICC Women’s Championship is vital for women’s cricket and the decision to increase it to 10 teams is the right one," she said.

"Hopefully, in the future, we’ll see the ICC Women’s Championship continue to grow."

ICC Women's Championship 2022-2025 – Full match-ups