Young female cricketers have an exciting new goal to aim for after the ICC this week announced the creation of an Under-19 World Cup for women.

The first ICC Under-19 Women’s World Cup — to be contested in the T20 format — will be played in Bangladesh in 2021. Like the existing one-day ICC Under-19 World Cup for men that’s been running since 1988, it will be played every two years thereafter, different countries to host the showcase event.

“Creating a Women's U19 event improves the pathway available to young cricketers and ensures they [will] have the same opportunities as their male counterparts," ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said.

Already at New Zealand domestic level, the men’s and women’s development programmes have been aligned, with NZC introducing a women’s Under-19 National Tournament for the first time this season — replacing the national Under-21s — to align with the male programme for this age-group.

That creates a structure and two-year window for players to work towards being one of the first women in the world to compete in the new international showdown.

The men’s Under-19 World Cup has long been recognised as an important stepping stone to full international cricket, offering opportunities to grow as a player and experience the environment of top international cricket in a national team setting.

Players get the opportunity to learn to adapt to unfamiliar conditions, playing in different climates and cultures and testing their game against a smorgasbord of strong, unfamiliar opponents from all over the cricket globe.

The latest announcement caps a big week for international women’s cricket with the ICC also announcing a significant increase in prizemoney for women's events.

When Australia hosts next year’s Women's World T20 in February-March, the winning side will win $US 1 million and the runners-up $500,000 — a 320 per cent increase from 2018.

The Final will be held on International Women’s Day — 8 March 2020 — with a goal of filling the MCG with more than 90,000 spectators for the big occasion.

Likewise for the 2021 one-day Women’s World Cup, there will be a purse of $US 3.5 million, an increase of $1.5 million.

Article added: Friday 18 October 2019