Courtesy: ICC/Google
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 final will be hosted at the Lord’s in London on July 5 next year, and the tournament will have 33 matches in 24 days, featuring the reigning champions New Zealand and hosts England, among others. The confirmation about the venue of the final came from the ICC with the list of six more venues for the 12-team ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, which are namely Old Trafford, Edgbaston, Headingley, The Oval, Bristol County Ground, and Hampshire Bowl.
As per the report published in ESPNcricinfo, the move from the ICC to host women’s global tournament matches at traditional big venues in England is due to the growth in attendance and viewing numbers for the women’s game since they successfully organised the Women’s Cricket World Cup in the country in 2017. It is understood that the ICC’s vision for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 is to accelerate equality and take the women’s game into the mainstream imagination on a permanent basis.
The sell-out Women's Cricket World Cup final at Lord's in 2017 remains a landmark in the rise of the women's game: Jay Shah
The tournament is already expanded by two teams since New Zealand were crowned champions of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the UAE. Moreover, the eight teams, which will be playing the tournament next year after securing their qualification are New Zealand, England, Australia, India, South Africa, and West Indies, by virtue of their performance in the previous edition, apart from Pakistan and Sri Lanka, making it as the highest two ranked teams on the ICC table as on October 21 last year.
ICC Chairman Jay Shah spoke about the venues for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 before the launch event at Lord’s in London on Thursday, May 1, and said, “The United Kingdom's rich diversity has always shown passionate support for all teams, something we witnessed so memorably at past events. The sell-out Women's Cricket World Cup final at Lord's in 2017 remains a landmark in the rise of the women's game, and I cannot think of a more fitting stage for the final.”
“As we turn our focus to preparing for the tournament, we are excited by the promise of thrilling T20 action that will not only captivate fans here but also serve as a showcase for cricket's return on the Olympic stage in Los Angeles 2028,” he added.
