The New Zealand women's cricket captain Amy Satterthwaite sees the confirmation of women's T20 cricket at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as another important milestone for the game.
Sophie Devine Photo: Photosport
The T20 event is one of three new events added to the next edition of the Games and the eight team tournament will be played at Edgbaston, boosting the total number of medal events for women at Birmingham 2022 to 135 - two more than men in a first for a major multi-sport event.
Initially nominated for the Birmingham Games in July, women's cricket has been officially ratified by the Games federation, something Satterthwaite said would only give wings to a game very much in the ascendency.
"To expose the women's game to such a different global audience, and to be part of such a prestigious event such as the Commonwealth Games - it's a huge boost at a time of real momentum," she said.
"Having the opportunity to play against countries we currently don't usually compete with will be unique and only a good thing for the growth of the game."
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will take place in England from 27th July to 7th August 2022 and will see 4,500 athletes competing across 18 sports.
Andrea Nelson, Chief Executive of the ICC Women's World Cup 2021 - to be hosted in New Zealand, said having T20 Cricket included in the Commonwealth Games was a major positive for the sport.
"This is fantastic for cricket and in fact women's sport as a whole," she said. "It's another chance for the public to see our top female athletes performing on the world stage.
"Hopefully it can build on the momentum generated by the world cup we're hosting here in 2021."
Photo: Photosport Ltd 2019
The ICC will be responsible for the competition terms and the conduct of cricket, by way of providing match officials and ensuring matches are played as per the laws of the game.
"This is a truly historic moment for women's cricket and for the global cricket community, who were united in their support of this bid," said Manu Sawhney, chief executive of the ICC.
"Women's cricket continues to go from strength to strength, and we are delighted and honoured the Commonwealth Games Associations voted to include Women's T20 cricket at Birmingham 2022."
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Birmingham 2022 will be responsible for delivery of the Commonwealth Games 2022.
"Today is an historic day and we are delighted to welcome the sport of cricket back to the Commonwealth Games," said CGF President Dame Louise Martin DBE.
"Cricket was last played in the Games at Kuala Lumpur in 1998 when the men's 50-overs-a-side competition was won by South Africa and featured icons of the sport including Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar.
"We believe the Commonwealth Games will be a fantastic platform to showcase the exciting sport of Women's T20 Cricket and continue to help grow the game globally.
"We would like to thank the International Cricket Council for their hard work and efforts to ensure that the sport is in the Games in Birmingham as we believe it will contribute to a spectacular and vibrant multi-sport event.
"Cricket is truly a Commonwealth sport and we hope Birmingham 2022 will be the start of a long and successful partnership between Women's Cricket and the Games."
All eight matchdays will be held at Edgbaston cricket ground, which played host to several memorable matches at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup this summer, including England's semi-final victory over Australia.