Thailand, UAE and Nepal into Super Three of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup qualifiers

THAILAND: Women’s cricket is developing fast in Asia.

Nine teams, divided into three groups, started the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia qualifier in Bangkok on May 9. On Sunday, May 18, UAE Women will face Thailand Women in the first match in the Super Three phase. This involves the three group winners, Thailand, UAE and Nepal, playing off for the prize of two places in the global qualifier, the next stage of qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup to be held in England.

At the outset of this qualifying event, Mohideen Kader, CEO of the Cricket Association of Thailand, welcomed the competing teams to the Land of Smiles. The ICC has chosen Bangkok to host Asian qualifier events for the Women’s T20 World Cup on several occasions in the past.

This reflects Thailand Women’s dominance of Asian cricket at this level over the past decade and more. Its team has reached the main ICC Women’s T20 World Cup qualifier on every occasion since 2013 when the squad traveled to Ireland. In 2020, the team qualified for the main Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia by reaching the final of the previous qualifier held in Scotland.

The current team faces strong opposition from UAE Women, who are the defending champions of the Asia qualifier, as they beat Thailand in the final of the last event held in Malaysia. This was in September 2023, the UAE winning by six runs, when they defended a total of 70 in a match dominated by the bowlers. The UAE also has a good overall record in this tournament, having reached the global qualifier three times since 2018.

Additionally, the UAE beat Thailand in the semifinals of the ACC Premier Cup, also held in Malaysia in February, when a remarkable 16 Asian teams played to qualify for the Women’s Asia