The new women's Future Tours Programme was announced today (November 4), setting out the schedule for 11 sides up to the middle of 2029. Here are the main talking points from the announcement.
West Indies to play first Test in two decades
Only four sides - England, Australia, India and South Africa - have played a women's Test match in the last seven years. However, there will be another actively Test playing nation in the next cycle, with the West Indies set to play Australia in 2026, England in 2027, and South Africa in 2028. The West Indies last played a women's Test in 2004, and have only played 12 in their history - 11 of which came before 1980. The Test against Australia, therefore, will be their second in 46 years and the first opportunity for all of their current crop of players to participate in the format.
Given ICC chair Greg Barclay's statement in 2022 that women's Tests would not be "part of the landscape moving forward to any real extent", this marks the continuation of a significant U-turn. South Africa played two Test matches this year for the first time since 2003, and will play a third against England next month. There has been a steady increase in the number of women's Tests played since 2021, with 14 played in that time period. One of the biggest barriers to further expansion was both whether more teams would be willing to take the financial risk of hosting Tests, and whether the 'big three' teams would play them. New Zealand turned down playing a Test in England earlier this year, and have no Tests scheduled in the new schedule. That the West Indies have three in the next four years not only signifies a commitment to scheduling more Tests in general, but could also encourage more nations to commit to the longest format.
Franchises given isolated windows
The WPL, Hundred, and WBBL have been given isolated windows in the schedule, avoiding clashes with marquee international fixtures. Earlier this year, England were unable to field a full-strength side due to the proximity of the WPL to the start of their series in New Zealand. As a result of the BCCI moving the WPL forward to late January next year, Australia have moved around some of their fixtures to avoid any clashes. After hosting the Women's Ashes which concludes in early February next year, Australia won't host another international series until February 2026. November has also been kept free for the WBBL, while a Hundred window has been set in August.
Zimbabwe's addition raises questions over criteria
Zimbabwe have been included in the schedule, and the ICC Women's Championship, for the first time, bringing the total number of teams to 11. Bangladesh and Ireland were added in for the first time for the ongoing cycle, meaning that all full-member nations apart from Afghanistan, who's women's team was disbanded when the Taliban swept back into power, are now included in the FTP. This does, however, raise several questions about how women's teams are judged as deserving of being included in the top tranche of teams. Zimbabwe are below Netherlands, Scotland and Thailand in the ICC women's ODI rankings, while Papua New Guinea are added to that list in T20Is.
Women's T20 Champions Trophy adds to glut of global events
A Women's T20 Champions Trophy will take place in Sri Lanka in 2027, meaning there will be an ICC tournament in every year of the FTP. The tournament will be played between six teams, likely determined by T20 ranking, and will be the first of three global events - including the Olympics and 2028 Women's T20 World Cup - played in a 12-month period. It was announced that the ICC would establish a women's Champions Trophy in 2021 but this is the first time any further details of the tournament have been released, following the announcement that South Africa would host the tournament in 2022. It will also be the first time Sri Lanka have hosted a women's ICC tournament since the 2012 Women's T20 World Cup.
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