Cricket and the Commonwealth are inextricably linked and almost perfectly aligned with 910 million of cricket’s one billion plus adult fans, says ICC CEO David Richardson.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed it has submitted a bid for the inclusion of T20 Women’s Cricket into the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022.

The bid, which has been made in partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), will see one of the world’s fastest growing women’s team sports apply to become part of the Commonwealth Games family.

 Cricket has made just one appearance at the Games previously, with men playing in 1998 in Kuala Lumpa where South Africa stood on top of the podium. The application for inclusion of women’s cricket for Birmingham 2022 is part of the global strategy for cricket to inspire and empower women and girls around the world and to drive greater levels of inclusivity and opportunity throughout the sport.