ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) announces the start of the 2026 Rising Stars Women’s Under-19 Championship, which will take place at venues across Antigua from August 8 to August 15.

The region’s young emerging female talent from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, the Windward Islands, the Leeward Islands and Guyana will do battle over the week-long tournament, with 2025 champions Barbados entering this year’s edition looking to complete the regional Under-19 double after capturing the Rising Stars Men’s Under-19 50-Over Championship in July.

The tournament is pivotal to CWI’s overarching strategy to grow the women’s game across the region, while also serving as a key talent identification period ahead of the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup scheduled for January and February 2027 in Bangladesh. In keeping with CWI’s longstanding approach of aligning regional youth competitions with the format of the next ICC age-group World Cup, this year’s championship returns to the T20 format following last year’s 30-over edition.

CWI’s High-Performance Manager, Dwain Gill, emphasized the importance of the championship with the 2027 World Cup on the horizon, in addition to contributing to the future of the women’s game in the region.

Twenty (20) players will be selected to stay on in Antigua for the camp which runs from August 16 – 30 at the CWI Headquarters, Coolidge Cricket Ground. Selection will be based on on-field performance and technical assessment; age eligibility for the 2027 World Cup; tactical awareness, temperament and competitiveness; fitness; and squad balance.

In addition to the on-field competition, CWI will once again use the opportunity to positively impact the young athletes in areas of personal and professional development, with training sessions covering a number of areas including nutrition, mental and women’s health, digital and online presence, anti-doping, anti-corruption, among others.  

Much like last month’s Men’s Championship, the preliminary stage of the tournament will see the six teams play each other once over five rounds, after which the top two will face off in the Championship Final, with the remaining teams competing in placement matches to determine the final standings.

Each round will see matches commencing at 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM, and 2:00 PM, with all matches streamed live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel, in addition to live scoring, match reports and daily updates available on www.windiescricket.com.

ROUND 1 – SATURDAY, AUGUST 8

Leeward Islands vs Windward Islands – Liberta Sports Club @ 9:00 AMTrinidad and Tobago vs Jamaica – Bethesda Playing Field @10:00AMBarbados vs Guyana – Liberta Sports Club @ 2:00 PM

ROUND 2 – SUNDAY, AUGUST 9

Leeward Islands vs Jamaica – Liberta Sports Club @ 9:00 AMBarbados vs Windward Islands – Bethesda Playing Field @10:00AMTrinidad and Tobago vs Guyana – Liberta Sports Club @ 2:00 PM

ROUND 3 – TUESDAY, AUGUST 11

Barbados vs Leeward Islands – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 9:00 AMTrinidad and Tobago vs Windward Islands – Liberta Sports Club @ 10:00 AMJamaica vs Guyana – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 2:00 PM

ROUND 4 – WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12

Leeward Islands vs Trinidad and Tobago – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 9:00 AMJamaica vs Barbados – Liberta Sports Club @ 10:00 AMGuyana vs Windward Islands – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 2:00 PM

ROUND 5 – FRIDAY, AUGUST 14

Windward Islands vs Jamaica – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 9:00 AMLeeward Islands vs Guyana – Liberta Sports Club @ 10:00 AMBarbados vs Trinidad and Tobago – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 2:00 PM

FINAL & PLACEMENT ROUND – SATURDAY, AUGUST 15

3 vs 4 – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 9:00 AM5 vs 6 – Liberta Sports Club @ 10:00 AM1 vs 2 – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 2:00 PM