Friday 8 March 2019 18:04, UK
The MCC's World Cricket committee has thrown its unanimous support behind a women's Twenty20 competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
A joint bid by the England and Wales Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council has pitted women's T20 against archery, shooting, para-table tennis and volleyball for inclusion, with a decision expected later this year.
The high-profile MCC group is meeting in Bangalore this week and chose International Women's Day to formally back the bid.
Former New Zealand captain Suzie Bates said: "Having Women's T20 at Birmingham 2022 would be a game-changer.
"Multi-sport events like the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics attract and inspire a different audience, so it's an enormous opportunity for women's cricket to win new fans, as well as being a chance for the Commonwealth Games to
build on one of their core values - equality - and create more opportunities for female athletes."
Committee chairman Mike Gatting, the former England captain, said: "I'm proud our committee members are so firmly behind the inclusion of Women's T20 at the next Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.
"The competition will primarily be held at Edgbaston, a superb venue firmly linked to cricket and Birmingham's sporting heritage. It will be significant for the sport in the Commonwealth and raising the profile of an exciting format of cricket around the world."
