In less than 36 hours from now, the New Zealand Vs West Indies game will mark the start of ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui on Thursday. The Women's ODI Cricket World Cup would have taken place in 2021 but for the COVID-19 pandemic.
But cricket, like other sports, has taken coronavirus in its stride and this will be the first ICC World Cup of the year.
England enter as defending champions after they edged out India by 9 runs in the final match at Lord’s in 2017.
Australia and England have dominated at the world event over the years by winning six and four titles, respectively. Only New Zealand have won the title once, being the only other team to bag the honour.
Before the tournament kicks off and the teams clash with each other for the coveted trophy, here is all you need to know about the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022.
Teams To Play Round-Robin Format
A total of eight teams will be playing at the Women’s World Cup 2022. They will all be facing each other once in the round-robin format from where the top four teams in the points table will qualify for the semi-finals.
A total of 31 matches will take place at the ODI World Cup across six venues, including the two semi-finals and one final.
No Super Over For Tied Match At Round-Robin Stage
Notably, in case a match ends in a tie at the round-robin stage, the teams will share a point each. The super over for a tied match will only be played at the knockout stage. There is no limitation in the number of super overs though, and they will be played in succession unless a result is obtained.
Prize Money Doubled For Title Winners
The team winning the ICC women's World Cup trophy in New Zealand will take home a cash prize of USD 1.32 million, double of what England won in 2017 edition. Meanwhile, runners-up will get USD 600,000, which is USD 270,000 more than what India got in 2017.
The overall prize money pot has also been increased by 75 per cent. The total prize money now will be USD 3.5 million (approximately 26 Crores INR). The 2017 edition had a pot prize of USD 2 million (13 Crores approximately).
Use Of DRS
Each team will have two reviews apiece in the innings of the games they play at the Women’s ODI World Cup 2022.
Notably, DRS was also there in the 11th edition but it was limited to selected games and each team had just one review for every innings.
Teams Can Play With 9 Players
In order to minimise the impact of COVID-19 in the tournament, the ICC has ruled that teams can play with a minimum of 9 players if affected by the virus. In such a case, two female substitutes within the team management can field for the side but cannot bat or bowl.
Fans Allowed Inside Stadiums
At the start of the tournament, 10 per cent of the crowd capacity will be allowed inside stadiums. However, the capacity of fans can be increased by ICC later in the tournament if the COVID situation permits.
In-Form Players
Amelia Kerr: The star New Zealand all-rounder was the top run-getter in her team’s recently-concluded five-match ODI series against India. She amassed 353 runs at an average of 117.67. She also claimed 7 wickets in the series.
Deepti Sharma: In the same New Zealand Vs India ODI series, all-rounder Deepti topped the wicket-takers’ chart with 10 scalps. She also scored 116 runs in the series.
Richa Ghosh: The wicketkeeper-batter was also among the ones who impressed in ODI series against New Zealand. She scored 146 runs across four innings at an average of 48.67.
What impressed most was her batting strike rate of 114.06. She also recorded the fastest ODI fifty by an Indian player in the series.
Deandra Dottin: The West Indian all-rounder has scored in 236 runs in the four matches she has played in the year 2022, including an unbeaten 150 against ODI world No. 2 South Africa. She averages 78.33 in those games.
