A Global Celebration of the Women’s Game

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has introduced the first-ever ICC Women’s Cricket Week, a global celebration of women’s cricket set to run from 16 to 22 October, aligning with the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

This innovative initiative is designed to unite the global cricket community around an ICC women’s World Cup, showcasing and supporting the growth of women’s cricket and encouraging national governing bodies to participate in meaningful and locally relevant ways.

The ICC Women’s Cricket Week will be an annual event, beginning this year during the World Cup in India, with a vision to significantly enhance the visibility, profile, and participation of women in cricket worldwide.

Mr. Jay Shah, ICC Chairman said: “This year has already marked a turning point for women’s cricket, with record-breaking crowds, landmark performances, and an unmistakable sense of momentum building around the game.

“The launch of the ICC Women’s Cricket Week is another proud milestone, a celebration not just of the players on the world stage, but of every girl picking up a bat or ball, dreaming of what’s possible. It gives our Members, from Full to Associate, a meaningful opportunity to participate in the global narrative and shape the future of the women’s game in their own communities.”

The initiative, which was endorsed by both the ICC Women’s Cricket Committee and the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee earlier this year, supports key strategic objectives under the ICC Women’s Cricket Strategy, particularly the pillars of Profile and Participation. It also advances the goals of the ICC 100% Cricket programme, aimed at elevating women’s cricket and women in the sport.

With support across the cricketing ecosystem, the ICC Women’s Cricket Week invites Members to tailor their celebrations in line with their local context, using the week to drive participation, raise awareness, and engage communities through cricket.

A number of non-host Full Members participating in the World Cup have already confirmed exciting initiatives:

• The England and Wales Cricket Board has promoted recreational cricket and raised excitement ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
• Cricket South Africa will host a full-day event at the high school of Proteas women’s wicketkeeper Karabo Meso, including a panel discussion, mini-cricket matches, and a match featuring former Proteas players.
• New Zealand Cricket has already delivered a “Mini World Cup” for young girls.

More than 45 ICC Associate Members have expressed interest in engaging, spanning every continent, from Bermuda to Hong Kong.

They will focus on three core activity areas:

1. Watch Parties to bring communities together and increase the awareness of women’s cricket.
2. Female Coach and Teacher Education initiatives to address the shortage of female leaders in the sport.
3. Women’s Participation Events including festivals and competitions under the ICC’s Criiio programme.

Highlights include:

• Mongolia and Turkey are planning Criiio festivals with more than 300 female participants each; Turkey are aiming to deliver across six provinces.
• Uzbekistan will host a watch party in a national park, while Bahrain is booking a cinema to screen World Cup action.
• Oman and Myanmar will run female-only coaching courses.
• Malaysia is planning a cricket festival entirely run by women, and Scotland will welcome delegates for a European Female Leaders’ Summit.

The ICC will ensure wide-reaching coverage across its broadcast and digital channels of these Member initiatives. A dedicated broadcast segment on the ICC world feed of the Women’s Cricket World Cup during the innings interval programme at the back end of the tournament will showcase selected Member content, highlighting the global scale of Women’s Cricket Week.