ICC adds B'desh and Ireland for next cycle

Dubai: Two new teams will feature in the next edition of ICC Women's Championship, making it a 10-team league, the game's governing body ICC said on Wednesday.

Bangladesh and Ireland, ranked 9th and 10th respectively, in the ODI Team Rankings, are the two teams which will be added to the mix for the third iteration (2022-25) of the event, following the success of the ICC Women's Championship (IWC) 2014-16 and 2017-20.

They join Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies in pursuit of automatic qualification for the 2025 ICC Women's World Cup.

"Each team will play eight three-match series (four home and four away) over the next three years. At the end of the cycle, the top five teams and the hosts will book a berth for the World Cup in 2025, while the rest of the teams will have to go through the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier," the governing body said in

a release.