ICC Women's World Cup 2021, Reserve Day,
ICC Women's World Cup 2021. (Photo Credit: Twitter)

The International Cricket Council, on Wednesday, announced the schedule for the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. The tournament will start with the hosts taking on a qualifier on February 6, 2021 at Eden Park, Auckland. The tournament will have 31 games and will be played across six different venues.

Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin will host the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup games. The final will be held in Christchurch on March 7 under lights. The two semifinal matches will be held at Tauranga and Hamilton on March 3 and March 4 respectively. The ICC has also made sure that  all three knockout games have reserve days which wasn’t the case in Australia last week during the T20 World Cup that saw India progress to the final directly following the abandonment of their semifinal clash against England.

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Only four teams have been confirmed for the World Cup so far. Australia, defending champions England, South Africa and hosts New Zealand have already qualified with four more spots are up for grabs. The remaining teams will be confirmed following the conclusion of the Women’s Championship and the qualifying event in Sri Lanka in July.

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Among the matches confirmed for now, two of the biggest attractions will be the Trans-Tasman clash featuring Australia and New Zealand on February 13 and the clash between defending champions England and Australia on the second day of the tournament.

“It’s a match we absolutely fizz about as players – taking on the Aussies is always a huge thrill,” New Zealand’s Sophie Devine said. “Cricket fans who come along to the Basin Reserve on Saturday the 13th of February will no doubt see a lot of passion from both teams. Playing in a World Cup against our archrivals in my home city will be an unreal feeling.”

As far as the format of the competition is concerned, all the eight teams will face each other once in the league stage. The top four teams at the conclusion of the group stage will then progress to the semifinals.

Here is the schedule of the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup:

ICC Announces Schedule For 2021 ICC Women's World Cup