Ahead of the Women’s World Cup that is slated to begin in June, the International Cricket Council made several important announcements pertaining to the tournament on Friday.
To begin with, the ICC has offered a huge increment in the prize money for the eventual champions ramping it up by 10% from $200,000 that was offered in the 2013 edition of the tournament to $2 million for the upcoming edition. This move has been made with an aim to bring about the men’s and women’s game on an equal standing, and to also help women’s cricket grow further.
Additionally, while ten matches, including the two semi-final matches and the final, will be broadcast on television, 21 other matches will be streamed live. Furthermore, the Decision Review System will be used in the 2017 Women’s World Cup. The Women’s World Cup final that has been scheduled to be held at the Lord’s will also have Spidercam along with other technology like Hawk-eye and Ultra-motion to track bowling trajectories.
Speaking about these developments, the ICC CEO Dave Richardson mentioned, “The ICC Women’s World Cup is the pinnacle of the women’s game and as such the players should be rewarded appropriately. $2 million is the first step towards greater parity and recognition. We think the Women’s World Cup this summer will be a turning point in the history of the game. There is growing interest globally in women’s sports and we want cricket to be front and centre of this and lead by example.”
He also went on to add, “The change will not happen overnight but the women’s game is crucial to the global growth of cricket. There is undoubtedly an audience for it – there were almost 18 million views of highlights of the Women’s World Cup Qualifier earlier this year – and we need to grow that further. There is greater depth in the women’s game and that is leading to increased competitiveness which is what fans want to see.”
The chairperson of the ICC Women’s Committee, Clair Connor stated, “I am delighted with the commitment shown to the growth of the women’s game by the ICC. The significant uplift in prize money since 2013 and the ambition of future parity, along with every game being broadcast is a huge moment for the sport. To recognise the players in this way demonstrates the value women’s cricket can add to the game globally and I know we’ll see some exceptional cricket this summer that can grow our fan-base around the world.”
Lastly, former Australian player Lisa Sthalekar went on to comment, “I am delighted to be on the commentary team for the 2017 Women’s World Cup. It’s such an exciting time for women’s cricket and so to be calling the action on their biggest stage will be a real thrill. With the growing professionalism in the women’s game, there’s no better stage to showcase how far it has come in such a short period. I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
The Australian women’s cricket team are the reigning Women’s World Cup champions. The Australian women defeated their West Indian counterparts to win their sixth World Cup title, and they will be bidding to collect the huge prize haul alongside winning their seventh title in the tournament.
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