Africa decider for women

Four African countries assemble in Kenya for the women’s World Cup regional qualifying tournament between December 8 and 11 as excitement builds towards the 2009 ICC World Cup.

Besides the host nation, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Uganda will contest the one-day competition which will be played in a simple round-robin format.

It will be a special and historic time for the Zimbabwe team as it makes its international debut with the World Cup following in December.

The winner of this African regional competition will progress through to the World Cup qualifying tournament (WWCQT) to be staged in Pakistan late next year where eight qualifiers will vie for two available slots in the 2009 World Cup line-up.

Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Bermuda, Ireland and South Africa are already through to that penultimate stage.

Apart from the African qualifier, these teams will be joined by two more from the European regional tournament to be played in the Netherlands next summer.

For the 2009 World Cup defending champions Australia, India, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies have earned automatic qualification following their top-six finish in the 2005 Women’s World Cup in Pretoria.

The 2009 World Cup will be the first to be played under the auspices of the ICC since its merger with the International women’s cricket council last year.

The IWCC had 15 members and since integration with the ICC the women’s game has been growing fast and there are now 42 countries with formal girls and/or women’s teams playing in structured cricket competitions.

Chairwoman of ICC Women’s committee Betty Timmer said: “We have achieved a lot since the integration of women's cricket within the ICC in April 2005.

“We still have a long way to go but it's evident that joining the ICC was a big step for the development of women's cricket.

“Female participation will continue to grow in the years to come.

“Looking forward, we want to produce the best ever Women's World Cup, create more publicity and hopefully the teams will be in top shape.

“We will do everything possible to create the right environment for teams to perform at their best.”