ICC Women's World Cup: New Zealand to aim for glory again after 22 years
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Auckland: When New Zealand hosts the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 from March 4 onwards, it would be looking to bring back the glory after almost 22 years when they last won the trophy, defeating trans-Tasman rivals Australia by four runs in 2000/01.
New Zealand had won the thrilling final, successfully defending 184 at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln to earn revenge for a defeat against the same opponents three years earlier.
As the preparations for the mega event continue in full swing, the omens are good for the White Ferns as, over the years, they have drastically improved they infrastructure and now boast of 70,000 registered players, a 12 per cent increase in the number of female participants playing the game from last year.
With New Zealand hosting the Women's Cricket World Cup, to be played across six venues, for the third time, here's a look at the major ICC tournaments that have been hosted by New Zealand, and the teams that will be competing in this edition of the tournament:
ICC Women's Cricket World Cups:
The 2022 tournament is not the first time New Zealand will be hosting the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup. The third tournament of the sport's oldest world championship, in 1982, was also hosted by New Zealand which included the competition's first-ever final -- the previous two editions in England (1973) and India (1978) were decided via the league table. Four years later, Lancaster Park in Christchurch hosted the first-ever ICC Women's Cricket World Cup final in front of a crowd of just over 3,000, seeing Australia defeat England by three wickets to lift the trophy.
The tournament returned in 2000 for a three-week-long edition that culminated with a final at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, which saw the host nation triumph in one of the greatest World Cup finals of all time -- defeating Australia by just four runs. That gave the White Ferns their maiden world title and the class of 2022 would love a similar outcome on home soil this time around, according to ICC.