England Women's cricket comes to Derby

View fullsize

Home of Bondholder Derbyshire County Cricket Club, the Incora County Ground has been named as the exclusive venue for a five-match England Women’s Vitality IT20 series against West Indies in September.

The five-match series will be played behind closed doors in a bio-secure environment, with the third IT20 on Saturday 26th September to be simulcast live on the BBC and Sky Sports – the first time women’s international cricket in the UK has been on free-to-air television since the 1993 Women’s World Cup final.

Chief Executive, Ryan Duckett, said: “Our off-field team and groundstaff have worked tirelessly throughout the summer to provide bio-secure training camps for visiting international teams and it will be greatly rewarding to round-off the season with a televised T20 series.”

At the initial outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) reiterated their commitment to their women’s and girls’ agenda and made international cricket for England Women a key objective to deliver during the pandemic.

View fullsize

During the pandemic, the Incora Ground has hosted a number of key international training camps, in order to facilitate the international summer, including an England Women’s training week earlier in August.

Ryan Duckett continued: “The Incora County Ground has become a leading venue in hosting women’s international cricket, including a number of England internationals, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2017.

“The appetite for the women’s game continues to grow and we’re looking forward to playing our part in staging high-profile matches this summer.”

ECB Managing Director of Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor, added: “It’s so pleasing after many months of work and communication with colleagues across the international game that we are now able to confirm international cricket for England Women this summer.”

The schedule for England vs West Indies is:

• Monday September 21: 1st Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports)

• Wednesday September 23: 2nd Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports)

• Saturday September 26: 3rd Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports, BBC)

• Monday September 28: 4th Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports)

• Wednesday September 30: 5th Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports)