Women's cricket retained for 2026 Commonwealth Games

Women's cricket featured at the Games for the first time in 2022, with Australia (gold), India (silver) and New Zealand (bronze) taking home the medals

Women's cricket has been retained for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The 23rd edition of the multi-sport event will be staged in Victoria between March 17-29, with 20 sports taking place across Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Gippsland.

Cricket first featured at the Commonwealth Games in 1998, with South Africa winning the 16-team 50-over men's competition. Australia and New Zealand picked up silver and bronze, respectively.

It returned to the Games in 2022, this time as a women's T20 competition featuring England, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, Barbados, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

^{India (silver), Australia (gold) and New Zealand (bronze) took home medals from Birmingham 2022 [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]}

Australia took home the gold medal, beating India by nine runs at Edgbaston, while New Zealand collected the bronze after defeating England by eight wickets.

ICC general manager, Wasim Khan, said: "We are delighted to know that women's cricket will be part of the Commonwealth Games in Victoria. It will be another significant landmark for the sport after its huge success in recent years, including Birmingham.

"The continued growth and upward trajectory of both the women's game and T20 cricket fits perfectly with our long-term ambitions that include being part of the Olympic Games.

"Women's cricket has witnessed a sharp upward curve with rising standards and a rapidly increasing fan base. The sight of 86,174 fans in Melbourne for the final of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 still lives strong in our memories and so we just can't wait for another opportunity to showcase the women's game, this time in Victoria in 2026."