Barbados women to represent West Indies at 2022 Commonwealth Games

The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games will see Barbados women’s cricket team plying their trade. It’s the first time women’s cricket will be played at the multisport event. With Barbados being the reigning champions T20 Blaze, they got the opportunity of representing the West Indies at the gala competition. The development was confirmed after Cricket West Indies postponed the 2021 T20 Blaze and Women’s Super50 Cup until next year.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) in a statement mentioned that the decision of postponing the regional women’s tournaments was taken after dates for the West Indies vs South Africa white-ball series were finalized. The two women’s cricket teams will lock horns in three T20Is and five ODIs from August 31 to September 19.

For the unversed, the 2021 T20 Blaze was supposed to be the qualifying tournament for next year’s Commonwealth Games. With West Indies not being a nation, only one country from the Caribbean Islands couldn’t feature in the Commonwealth games. England, the hosts, along with Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa are the other teams to have made the cut based on the rankings

We wish them all the very best as they compete for the gold medal: CWI chief executive

“This is a historic occasion as for the first time Women’s Twenty20 cricket will feature at this prestigious global sporting event, which is a great fillip for our sport and great exposure and opportunity for the players. We wish them all the very best as they compete for the gold medal, and we know they will continue to do West Indies proud,” Johnny Grave, the CWI chief executive, was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“It has been a challenging period with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic at our doorstep, and we have been forced to take the decision to postpone the Women’s T20 Blaze and Women’s CG Insurance Super50 Cup for this year. We have however been able to invest in several High-Performance Camps and international fixtures to the Women’s squad, conducted by Courtney Walsh and his coaching staff,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Women in Maroon would be viewing the South Africa series as a preparation opportunity for the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers later this year. On the other hand, the Proteas side, which has already made a place in the global event, would want to polish its skills.