Commonwealth Games 2022 schedule announced as Sri Lanka complete line-up

ICC and Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) officially announced cricket as the first discipline to complete the line-up for the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. A joint statement on Tuesday (February 1) ratified Sri Lanka’s entry into the eight-team T20I competition after they won the ICC Commonwealth Games Qualifier in Kuala Lumpur.



Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and Pakistan qualified earlier for the tournament based on their rankings. Barbados will represent West Indies having won the domestic T20 Blaze competition when it was last held. This will be the first time women’s cricket feature in the multi-sport event.



The tournament will be played in league-cum-knockout format with two Groups. Australia, Barbados, India and Pakistan will be placed in Group A, while Sri Lanka joined England, New Zealand and South Africa in Group B. T20 World Cup 2020 finalists Australia and India will clash in the opening fixture on July 29. Gold and bronze medal matches will be played on August 7.



“It’s good to have finalised the identity of the teams participating in the Commonwealth Games and congratulations to Sri Lanka for making it after playing so well in the qualifier.  We will have eight of the best teams competing for the gold and I am sure we will get to watch a highly competitive tournament,” Geoff Allardice, ICC chief executive, said.



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“The Commonwealth Games are an important part of the women’s cricket calendar over the next year. It is a huge opportunity for us to take cricket beyond the traditional strongholds and give more people around the world the chance to enjoy the game, whilst the players are very much looking forward to being part of multi-sport games. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank the Commonwealth Games Federation for their support and hope to see some top-quality cricket at Edgbaston.”



Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Atapattu, who was the Player of the Series in the Qualifying tournament in Malaysia, expressed her delight in joining the competition alongside other seven teams.



“It’s a great feeling to have qualified for the Commonwealth Games and all of us are really excited to be part of the multi-sport extravaganza. I’m sure it’s going to be a different experience for all of us,” Atapattu said.



“We had a memorable Qualifying tournament in Kuala Lumpur and now look forward to doing well in Birmingham against the best.I would like to thank Sri Lanka Cricket, the ICC, Commonwealth Games Sri Lanka and the CGF for all their support.”



Fixtures:



Group A



July 29



Australia vs India

Pakistan vs Barbados



July 31



India vs Pakistan

Australia vs Barbados



August 3



Australia vs Pakistan

Barbados vs India



Group B



July 30



New Zealand vs South Africa

England vs Sri Lanka



August 2



England vs South Africa

Sri Lanka v New Zealand



August 4



South Africa vs Sri Lanka

England vs New Zealand



August 6



Semi-final 1

Semi-final 2



August 7



Final - Gold medal match

Bronze medal match



* All matches to be played at Edgbaston