Pakistan to host it's first Women's Cricket Tournament - World Cup Qualifiers

[zaidbk]

Pakistan is reportedly set to host the Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Lahore, starting on April 4th — a historic moment that could inspire generations of young female cricketers across the country. This is more than just a tournament; it's a powerful statement about the growing recognition and support for women’s cricket in Pakistan, a nation where the sport holds deep cultural significance.


For years, Pakistani women cricketers have struggled with limited resources, infrastructure challenges, and a lack of visibility. Hosting such a prestigious ICC event would bring their efforts to the forefront, showcase their talent on home soil, and prove to aspiring players that a future in cricket is within reach. Seeing international teams compete in Lahore could ignite dreams in girls across the country, encouraging them to pick up a bat or ball and imagine themselves on the world stage.


The magnitude of this event is undeniable. It’s not just about qualifying for the 2025 Women’s World Cup in India — it’s about creating a sustainable pathway for women’s cricket to thrive. Local fans, especially young girls, will witness firsthand what’s possible when female athletes are allowed to shine. The visibility of the qualifiers could also drive more investment into domestic women’s cricket, improving facilities, coaching, and grassroots development.


Of course, there’s a geopolitical angle, with Pakistan possibly playing their World Cup matches at neutral venues due to ongoing tensions. But that’s a secondary issue compared to the broader significance of hosting the qualifiers. The real victory lies in what this moment represents: resilience, progress, and a giant leap forward for women’s sports in Pakistan.


What do you think this tournament could mean for the future of women’s cricket in Pakistan?

 

[sweep_shot]

All the best. May the tournament be a success.

Since there is no India, I expect it to be smooth and drama-free.

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

All the best. May the tournament be a success.

Since there is no India, I expect it to be smooth and drama-free.

Simply Lovely Transformation

Post in thread 'Women's cricket - Do you care?'

Feb 21, 2025

I want women to succeed in everything they do.

Having said that, I do not believe women's cricket should be a thing. Maybe they can play for fun but cricket boards shouldn't waste money on actual women's cricket. Women's cricket is not serious cricket due to basic biology.

Women should play these sports only --> volleyball, golf, snooker, tennis, badminton, and swimming.

• sweep_shot

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Who is in the qualifiers?

 

[sweep_shot]

Who is in the qualifiers?

Bangladesh, Ireland, Pakistan, Scotland, Thailand, and West Indies.

2 teams are to qualify for World Cup.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Bangladesh, Ireland, Pakistan, Scotland, Thailand, and West Indies.

2 teams are to qualify for World Cup.

That's pretty cool Thailand are in the list.

 

[sweep_shot]

That's pretty cool Thailand are in the list.

Thailand is not bad in women's cricket.

They are one of the strongest associates.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Thailand is not bad in women's cricket.

They are one of the strongest associates.

But you didn't want the ladies to play any sort of cricket?

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Will the teams have to wear head coverings to play cricket in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan?

 

[mominsaigol]

Women cricket is boring due to the fact that aussie women literally have the biggest unfair advantage.

CA is the only board that invests in women talent while even boards like bcci do not care much and even if they did, unlike men, aussie women have a clear genetic advantage over women cricketers.

men and women have biological differences, Hence Men can compete and close the gap of genetics through pure raw skill.

That's not the case for women, aussie women have such a genetic advantage over any other nation that's its rare to see them lose. Some of their women cricketers can bowl at 135 to 140 speeds which is too much for their meek 100 to 110 kph minds

 

[RyanRyan10]

That's pretty cool Thailand are in the list.

They have beaten Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the past

Had scored 150 vs Pak in a T20 WC match but then rain interrupted

Have declined a bit now

 

[BouncerGuy]

Match schedule for ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2025 in Pakistan announced

Hosts Pakistan take on Ireland at the Gaddafi Stadium while the West Indies play Scotland at the Lahore City Cricket Association on the opening day of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2025 which runs across the two venues in Lahore from 9 to 19 April.

The sixth edition of the Qualifier sees teams from four Full Members – Bangladesh, Ireland, Pakistan and the West Indies – compete with Associate Members Scotland and Thailand in the 15-match league tournament that will decide the two qualifiers for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 to be held later this year.

Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka apart from hosts India, have already qualified for the World Cup by virtue of finishing in the top six of the 10-team ICC Women’s Championship (2022-25).

Bangladesh, Ireland, Pakistan and the West Indies play in the Qualifier as they finished from places seventh to 10th in the Women’s Championship, while Thailand and Scotland made it as the next two best ranked sides in the ICC Women’s ODI Team Rankings as of 28 October 2024.

Some exciting matchups in the tournament include Pakistan taking on the West Indies on 14 April in a day-night game at the Gaddafi Stadium, Bangladesh going up against the West Indies at LCCA on 17 April and sub-continental rivals Pakistan and Bangladesh clash at the LCCA on 19 April.

ICC CEO, Geoff Allardice said: “We are pleased to announce the match schedule for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2025.

“The six competing teams are just one step away from the Women’s Cricket World Cup and I am sure they will all be eagerly looking forward to the competition.

“On behalf of the ICC, I would like to wish the teams all the best for the tournament in Lahore as part of the build-up to the Cricket World Cup later this year.”

ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2025 match schedule (day matches begin at 09h30 and day/night matches at 14h00 local time)

Wednesday, 9 April
Pakistan vs Ireland – Gaddafi Stadium (Day)
West Indies vs Scotland – LCCA (Day)
Thursday, 10 April
Thailand vs Bangladesh – LCCA (Day)
Friday, 11 April
Pakistan vs Scotland – LCCA (Day)
Ireland vs West Indies – Gaddafi Stadium (Day)
Sunday, 13 April
Scotland vs Thailand - LCCA (Day)
Bangladesh vs Ireland – Gaddafi Stadium (D/N)
Monday, 14 April
Pakistan vs West Indies – Gaddafi Stadium (D/N)
Tuesday, 15 April
Thailand vs Ireland – LCCA (Day)
Scotland vs Bangladesh – Gaddafi Stadium (D/N)
Thursday, 17 April
Bangladesh vs West Indies – LCCA (Day)
Pakistan vs Thailand – Gaddafi Stadium (D/N)
Friday, 18 April
Ireland vs Scotland – Gaddafi Stadium (D/N)
Saturday, 19 April
Pakistan vs Bangladesh – LCCA (Day)
West Indies vs Thailand – Gaddafi Stadium (D/N)

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Snehal Pradhan, Sana Mir and Bismah Maroof look forward to the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Qualifier in Pakistan

The strength in the depth of women’s cricket will be on full display at the upcoming ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Qualifier in Pakistan.

ICC Manager - Women’s Cricket and former India international cricketer, Snehal Pradhan, is looking forward to the event in Pakistan where six teams will compete for two spots at the Women’s Cricket World Cup in India later this year.

Hosts Pakistan will be joined by ICC Full Members Bangladesh, Ireland and West Indies along with Associate Members Thailand and Scotland, for the Qualifier, and Pradhan believes that with the standard rising across the board, predicting who will come through qualifying is almost impossible.

She said: “It’s very high stakes cricket in terms of what is up for grabs. The last Cricket World Cup in New Zealand was an extremely successful event. We saw just how high-profile that event is and that is the opportunity that two of the six teams are going to be fighting it out for.

“Cricket with context, huge outcomes on the line, great opportunities so it’s a brilliant tournament, everyone is excited about it. We’ve got four full members, two associate members, so this is an extremely competitive pack of six teams.

“It really is hard to pick the two teams who are going to get through. We saw Thailand make it to the T20 World Cup in 2020, so they have shown that they are able to get to the world stage, Scotland got to the T20 World Cup in 2024 so they can do it as well. No team will be taken lightly.”

The growth of the game has been evident across the board in recent years, with New Zealand and South Africa playing out the last ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Final, while Nigeria and USA produced some stellar performances at the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup earlier this year.

For Pradhan, these improved displays at all levels are a result of a focus on increasing the opportunities for teams through the ICC Women’s Championship, which provides context to bilateral ODI cricket in between World Cup events.

She explained: “There are a couple of decisions that we reflected on in the last few years that mean that we are in the position that we are now. The ICC Women’s Championship expanding to 10 teams and the awarding of ODI status to five Associate Member teams at the start of this ODI cycle has created a large pool of teams who are in the race for an eight-team Women’s Cricket World Cup.

“We had a group of 16 teams who were eligible for an eight-team event. The volume of matches that we have seen in the calendar because of the structure that the ICC Women’s Championship has meant that the standard of cricket has gone up.

“That is incredibly encouraging, you are seeing now the value of all those decisions and investments with the ICC confirming the first-ever commercial partner for dedicated women’s cricket events with Unilever coming on board and starting their association at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.”

The result of this growth is a move towards expansion, both at T20 level, and also in ODIs, with the next World Cup set to be contested by 10 teams.

Former Pakistan captain Sana Mir has welcomed that decision, and the approach taken by the ICC to grow the game.

Looking forward to the event on home soil, she said: “One of the great things about the ICC Women's Championship, which I benefited from hugely in my career, is that it has been expanded to 10 teams. I feel that plays a huge role, especially for countries like Bangladesh and Ireland now that they have been part of that.

“It is a very exciting time in women’s cricket and if we keep doing things right, there will be more than four or five teams who people want to see playing against each other.

“In the last World Cup, a lot of matches went down to the last couple of overs and that’s what you want to see as an audience. Women’s cricket is providing that.”

That jeopardy is on the up at all levels, and the hope now is that fans will see plenty of it in Pakistan over the next few weeks.

Bismah Maroof, who succeeded Sana as Pakistan captain, added: “Women’s cricket has improved massively in the past few years and it’s going from strength to strength.

“The associate countries are playing really well, Scotland and Thailand have come a long way and as a full member country, Ireland have grown a lot.

Pradhan concluded: “If we get to the last round of matches and it is absolutely down to the wire to see who gets through, that will be the biggest sign of success.”

 

[Bhaijaan]

Good luck to Thai women’s cricket team. Their team is studded with some of finest finishers and i will be rooting for them.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Umpires, match officials revealed for Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Qualifier

The umpires and match officials have been announced for this month's ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

The six-team tournament will take place in Pakistan between April 9-19, with two sides to earn their place at this year's ICC Women's Cricket World Cup as a result.

The panel will consist of 10 umpires and three match referees, with host nation Pakistan to be represented by on the umpiring panel by Faisal Khan Afridi and Saleema Imtiaz.

Amazing footage of umpire's perspective of excellent catch | U19WC 2025

Last year Saleema became the first woman from Pakistan to join an ICC panel of umpires and she said at the time that she would inspire a new generation of umpires from the Asian country.

"This isn't just a win for me, it's a win for every aspiring female cricketer and umpire in Pakistan," Saleema said.

"I hope my success motivates countless women who dream of making their mark in the sport.”

Bangladesh also have two umpires on the panel in Masudur Rahman Mukul and Shatira Jakir Jesy, while Zimbabwe's Sarah Dambanevana will feature along with Donovan Koch, Babs Gcuma, Candace la Borde, Dedunu de Silva and Shaun Haig.

Ali Naqvi, Shandre Fritz and Trudy Anderson will be in place as match referees and ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees, Sean Easey believes the tournament will provide the entire panel with an excellent opportunity to show their credentials.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our appointed match officials, overseeing this important tournament which is the last step for teams on the path to the World Cup," Easey said.

“Our officials are experienced and well prepared, and we look forward to seeing them participate in this event.”

Referees: Ali Naqvi (Pakistan), Shandre Fritz (South Africa), Trudy Anderson (New Zealand).

Umpires: Babs Gcuma (South Africa), Candace la Borde (West Indies), Dedunu de Silva (Sri Lanka), Donovan Koch (Australia), Faisal Khan Afridi (Pakistan), Masudur Rahman Mukul (Bangladesh), Saleema Imtiaz (Pakistan), Sarah Dambanevana (Zimbabwe), Shathira Jakir Jesy (Bangladesh), Shaun Haig (New Zealand).

ICC

 

[hassan918]

Sana Mir looks forward to competitive ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Qualifier on home soil

Media Release
There are few players who are better versed in navigating ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier events than Sana Mir and the former Pakistan skipper believes the next instalment could be the most competitive yet.

Sana helped Pakistan through three Qualifiers in her playing days, in 2008, 2011 and 2017, captaining her country in the latter two.

Pakistan are the hosts this year as they bid to claim one of the final two spots on offer for the showpiece in India later this year, and Sana is looking forward to seeing how it plays out in the coming weeks.

“There is a lot of excitement, and everyone is looking forward to it,” she said.

“It will be a tough competition. West Indies have done brilliantly in the last couple of years, especially under Hayley Matthews, Bangladesh have done quite well in ODIs in the last couple of years, they have beaten India in an ODI and done well against South Africa and Ireland.

“For Pakistan, I feel there are quite a lot of changes. Fatima Sana is a good captain, she has done really well since taking on that role, but it will not be an easy competition.

“Ireland have looked good, they were able to beat England last year, Scotland have also played well under Kathryn Bryce, they have more international and league exposure than before.

“You can never write Thailand off with the work ethic they have, they put in so much hard work, and if more opportunities are given to associate nations, they will rise up really quickly.

“With all these things put together, it will be a close tournament. West Indies are perhaps favourites but the rest are quite neck-and-neck.”

Pakistan have been ever-present on the World Cup stage – both ODI and T20 – since 2009, when a side featuring Sana ended a 12-year wait for an appearance at the competition. They did so by overcoming a rocky start against Ireland, a match which they won despite suffering six run-outs – with Isobel Joyce responsible for five of them.

“That first match was so nerve-wracking, it was very low scoring, but we were able to get the win,” she recalled.

“That tournament is a very special memory, both for myself and the team. I as named joint player of the series and we were able to qualify.

“Another one that sticks out is the 2011 Qualifier in Bangladesh. I was captain then and we were able to beat South Africa for the first time in ODIs in that Qualifier. That was a see-saw Qualifier, we were always tense about how it would go, but that was another special one.

“These Qualifiers take the most energy out of you as the moment you take a wrong step, there is pressure on you for the rest of the tournament. For all teams, it is really important to start well.”

Pakistan’s class of 2025 will be captained by Fatima Sana as they bid to progress. She leads a young squad who will hope to follow in the footsteps of Sana and her teammates, with the former captain hoping the pressure brings out the best in them.

“I’m always of the opinion that if you want to set up youngsters to succeed, they have to learn from senior players,” she said. “There is Sidra Ameen at the top, Muneeba (Ali) has good experience, Aliya (Riaz) is in the middle with Fatima Sana, and Diana (Baig) is back in good rhythm with the ball.

“In the ODI format, the batting needs to be there for any team to have consistent results and the youngsters will have to step up. Hopefully they will be able to execute when it matters.”

About the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Qualifier

The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Qualifier is the final step in the qualification pathway to the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

The sixth edition of the Qualifier is hosted by Pakistan where matches will be played at Gaddafi Stadium and Lahore City Cricket Association.

Fans will see teams from four Full Members – Bangladesh, Ireland, Pakistan and the West Indies – compete with Associate Members Scotland and Thailand in the 15-match league tournament that will decide the two qualifiers for the main event in India later this year.

Day matches will begin at 09h30 and day/night matches at 14h00 local time.

 

[hassan918]

Thailand women's team reach Pakistan for ICC World Cup Qualifier​

LAHORE: The Thailand women's cricket team arrived in Pakistan on Thursday to participate in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

The 19-member squad, led by captain Naruemol Chaiwai, traveled from Bangkok to Lahore ahead of the tournament.

Warm-up matches for the highly anticipated event will begin tomorrow in Lahore.

Pakistan’s squad, captained by Fatima Sana, has already reported to a local hotel along with the team management and coaching staff.

The Women in Green will play their first warm-up match against Thailand on April 4 at Gaddafi Stadium.

The sixth edition of the Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier is set to commence on April 9, featuring four full-member teams—Pakistan, Bangladesh, West Indies, and Ireland—alongside associate members Scotland and Thailand.

A total of 15 matches will be played across two venues: the newly renovated Gaddafi Stadium and the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground.

The tournament opener will see hosts Pakistan take on Ireland on April 9.

Source: GEO SUPER

 

[RizwanT20Champ]

Women cricket is boring due to the fact that aussie women literally have the biggest unfair advantage.

CA is the only board that invests in women talent while even boards like bcci do not care much and even if they did, unlike men, aussie women have a clear genetic advantage over women cricketers.

men and women have biological differences, Hence Men can compete and close the gap of genetics through pure raw skill.

That's not the case for women, aussie women have such a genetic advantage over any other nation that's its rare to see them lose. Some of their women cricketers can bowl at 135 to 140 speeds which is too much for their meek 100 to 110 kph minds

You also told @Mesozoic that he is a woman and should go to the kitchen thereby showing your mentality. You should change your zehniyat bro. Women deserve to play cricket too.

 

[mominsaigol]

You also told @Mesozoic that he is a woman and should go to the kitchen thereby showing your mentality. You should change your zehniyat bro. Women deserve to play cricket too.

At the time we didn't like each other, now I have no issues with him, he's one of the best posters on PP.

Besides if I am to apologise I will apologise to him if he brings it up, not a troll like you lol.

And when did I say anything about women cricket. Unlike you I actually know Bismah maroof irl and am fond of her as a cricket fan. I've met her family too.

 

[RizwanT20Champ]

At the time we didn't like each other, now I have no issues with him, he's one of the best posters on PP.

Besides if I am to apologise I will apologise to him if he brings it up, not a troll like you lol.

And when did I say anything about women cricket. Unlike you I actually know Bismah maroof irl and am fond of her as a cricket fan. I've met her family too.

You can tell him what you want. I am commenting on your zehniyat (racist and misogynist language is a mentality). Take care bro. And say hi to BM in your head...as that's where everything happens like Rohit playing 2011 WC.

 

[CrIc_Mystique]

Best wishes to Pak for holding a smooth, safe, successful and enjoyable tournament!