The Women’s World T20 has been hailed as a success and a top official of cricket’s governing body has heaped praise on Cricket West Indies (CWI) for putting on a fantastic tournament.
International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive officer Dave Richardson commended CWI for hosting the event that featured unprecedented attendances across three venues.
Speaking after Saturday night’s final between Australia and England that attracted more than 10 000 spectators at the Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, the former South Africa wicketkeeper/batsman said it was likely the tournament would trigger greater involvement in the women’s game.
“On behalf of the ICC, I would like to congratulate Cricket West Indies for organising a tournament that proved to be a celebration of cricket. The crowds came out in thousands to watch and the tournament displayed the love people in this part of the world have for the game,” Richardson said.
“We saw some memorable performances and milestones being achieved and I would like to thank all the teams for putting up their best and showing the world what women’s cricket is all about. The ICC is committed to backing both women’s cricket and the T20 format, and this tournament has played a significant part in that.
“This tournament has been watched around the world and I’m sure the quality of cricket displayed during the tournament will inspire girls across continents to pick up a bat or a ball and play cricket.”
It was the third time that a global event had been played in the Caribbean, following the World Cup in 2007 and the men’s and women’s versions of the World T20 in 2010.
In addition to the bumper crowds for the final and semi-finals in Antigua, there were also significant turnouts for the group matches at the Guyana National Stadium and the Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia and organisers reported average tickets sales of around 4 000 for each match day ahead of the semi-finals.
It was also the first time that the Women’s World T20 was played as a standalone event. In previous years, women’s matches were usually part of a double-header and preceded men’s games.
Richardson, who watched Saturday’s final, which Australia won comfortably by eight wickets to clinch their fourth title, also acknowledged the sponsors for the event.
“The ICC would also like to thank the sponsors for their backing of the event as well as Star, our global broadcast partner which plays such a significant role in growing the women’s game and taking coverage of this event to more than 200 territories around the world.
“Finally I’d like to thank the ground staff for handling every challenge that came up during the tournament. It would not have been possible to put up such a wonderful tournament without their support.” (HG/PR)
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