Cricket West Indies (CWI) announces the start of the 2026 Rising Stars Women’s Under-19 Champi-onship, which will take place at venues across Antigua from August 8 to 5.
The region’s young emerging female talents from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, the Wind-ward Islands, the Leeward Islands, and Guyana will 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 International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup scheduled for January and February 2027 in Bangladesh. In keep-ing 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, emphasised 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.
“With the 2027 Under-19 Women’s World Cup quickly approaching, the Championship provides a per-fect opportunity for us to identify the region’s top talent with the goal of building a competitive squad for the global tournament,” said Gill. “Immediately following the tournament will be a two-week high-performance camp, with the best players from this tournament being selected to participate in an inten-sive programme of technical, tactical, physical and mental development aimed at accelerating their preparation for the global tournament.”
Twenty players will be selected to stay on in Antigua for the camp which runs from August 16 to 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 com-petitiveness; fitness; and squad balance.
“Women’s cricket around the world is advancing rapidly; therefore, we must continue our investment in the next generation of players to ensure we remain competitive on the international stage,” Gill stated. “The Rising Stars Under-19 Women’s Championship is a critical part of that journey. It provides our most talented young cricketers with the opportunity to compete, learn and grow in an environment that reflects the standards required to advance to the next level.”
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, and 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 09:00h, 10:00h, and 10:00h, 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 v Windward Islands – Liberta Sports Club at 09:00h
Trinidad and Tobago v Jamaica – Bethesda Playing Field at 10:00h
Barbados v Guyana – Liberta Sports Club at 14:00h
ROUND 2 – SUNDAY, AUGUST 9
Leeward Islands v Jamaica – Liberta Sports Club at 09:00h
Barbados v Windward Islands – Bethesda Playing Field at 10:00h
Trinidad and Tobago v Guyana – Liberta Sports Club at 14:00h
ROUND 3 – TUESDAY, AUGUST 11
Barbados v Leeward Islands – Coolidge Cricket Ground at 09:00h
Trinidad and Tobago v Windward Islands – Liberta Sports Club at 10:00h
Jamaica v Guyana – Coolidge Cricket Ground at 14:00h
ROUND 4 – WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12
Leeward Islands v Trinidad and Tobago – Coolidge Cricket Ground at 09:00h
Jamaica v Barbados – Liberta Sports Club at 10:00h
Guyana v Windward Islands – Coolidge Cricket Ground at 14:00h
ROUND 5 – FRIDAY, AUGUST 14
Windward Islands v Jamaica – Coolidge Cricket Ground at 09:00h
Leeward Islands v Guyana – Liberta Sports Club at 10:00h
Barbados v Trinidad and Tobago – Coolidge Cricket Ground at 14:00h
FINAL & PLACEMENT ROUND – SATURDAY, AUGUST 15
3 v 4 – Coolidge Cricket Ground at 09:00h
5 v 6 – Liberta Sports Club at 10:00h
1 v 2 – Coolidge Cricket Ground at 14:00h
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