Calls mount for women´s cricket to get Commonwealth Games place

BANGALORE, India: The MCC World Cricket Committee including legendary spinner Shane Warne on Friday stepped up pressure for women´s cricket to be included in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.Organisers of the 2022 event in the English city of Birmingham are to announce this year whether cricket will get a place for the first time since 1998. It is competing against Olympic sports including archery, shooting and volleyball."It´s a hugely exciting time for women´s cricket after two great World Cups in two years and it´s up to the cricket world and Commonwealth Games Federation to build on that momentum and bring cricket into multi-sport games," said Warne after the first day of the committee´s meeting in Bangalore.Former New Zealand women´s captain Suzie Bates said having cricket at the 2022 event would be a "game changer" for the sport."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," added Bates a member of the committee since 2017.The Marylebone Cricket Club is cricket´s formal law-making body and its world committee of former players meets twice a year to discuss key issues facing the game.Cricket was last included in the Commonwealth Games in 1998 when South Africa beat Australia in the men´s 50-over final in Kuala Lumpur.

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