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<\/p>\nST. JOHN\u2019S, Antigua \u2013 Cricket West Indies (CWI) announces the start of the 2026 Rising Stars Women\u2019s Under-19 Championship, which will take place at venues across Antigua from August 8 to August 15.<\/p>\n
The region\u2019s 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\u2019s edition looking to complete the regional Under-19 double after capturing the Rising Stars Men\u2019s Under-19 50-Over Championship in July.<\/p>\n
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The tournament is pivotal to CWI\u2019s overarching strategy to grow the women\u2019s game across the region, while also serving as a key talent identification period ahead of the ICC Under-19 Women\u2019s T20 World Cup scheduled for January and February 2027 in Bangladesh. In keeping with CWI\u2019s longstanding approach of aligning regional youth competitions with the format of the next ICC age-group World Cup, this year\u2019s championship returns to the T20 format following last year\u2019s 30-over edition.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Twenty (20) players will be selected to stay on in Antigua for the camp which runs from August 16 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s health, digital and online presence, anti-doping, anti-corruption, among others. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Much like last month\u2019s Men\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n