Edgbaston will serve as one of the host venues during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham after women’s Twenty20 cricket was officially added to the programme for the multi-sport event.
Other sports that have been confirmed for Birmingham 2022 are beach volleyball and para table tennis, ensuring that the Games will have the largest female and para sport programme in the history of the event.
A total of eight cricket teams will compete at Edgbaston, which serves as the home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club. The news is a further boost to the stadium’s event-hosting credentials, with the ground having recently staged matches at the Cricket World Cup and the first Test of the Ashes series between England and Australia.
Neil Snowball, chief executive of Warwickshire CCC, said: “Seeing women’s T20 recognised as a sport in the Commonwealth Games is fantastic for the game of cricket and we’re thrilled that Edgbaston can play a leading role by hosting this first ever tournament at Birmingham 2022.
“Our recent hosting of the Specsavers Ashes Test match and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup proved once again that, by working in partnership with our city stakeholders and delivery partners, Birmingham is an outstanding host of the world’s biggest sporting events.
“Birmingham 2022 will put the city, and the West Midlands, on the world stage again and we’re very excited to be working with the Commonwealth Games organising team on delivering one of the biggest events that this region has ever experienced.”
International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Manu Sawhney said that the organisation’s partnership with the Commonwealth Games marks a “significant step forward” in realising the body’s ambition for the women’s game. Cricket was last contested at the Games in 1998, when South Africa won the men’s 50-overs-a-side competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The 2022 Games will mark the first time in history that a major multi-sport event will feature more women’s medal events than men’s. A total of 135 women’s medal events are scheduled, compared to 133 for men.
The 2022 Games will take place from July 27 to August 7. Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium will host athletics events during the Games, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. The stadium’s permanent capacity is set to be increased from 12,700 to 18,000 ahead of the Games, with temporary seating set to further expand its capacity to 40,000 during the event itself.
