ICC: Women’s T20 World Cup to expand; USA and Chile put on notice

The Women’s T20 World Cup will expand to 12 teams for the 2026 tournament in England and grow to a 16-nation competition for 2030, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced.

The tournament started with eight teams in 2009, before rising to 10 teams from the 2014 edition.

Ten teams will take part in the 2024 tournament in Bangladesh in October, where Australia will aim to win a record-extending fourth successive title.

The increase in size could benefit Ireland and Scotland. Ireland qualified in 2023 but have not made it to this year’s tournament, while Scotland will compete this year after failing to qualify last time.

The 2026 tournament will see England host for the first time since 2009, with the staging rights for 2030 yet to be awarded by the ICC.

At its latest board meeting, the ICC also put USA Cricket – recent co-hosts of the T20 World Cup – and Cricket Chile formally on notice.

A statement from the ICC said: “They have been given 12 months to address their non-compliance with ICC membership criteria due to the lack of fit-for-purpose detailed governance and administrative structure and systems.”