The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the schedule of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015, which will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 28 November to 5 December.

Eight sides will go head to head in the week-long tournament with the two finalists joining reigning champion Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies in the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, which will be staged alongside the men’s event from 11 March to 3 April 2016.

These eight sides have earned direct qualification to next year’s event after finishing in the top eight of the previous event, which was held in Bangladesh, while Bangladesh and Ireland have progressed to the qualification tournament after finishing ninth and 10^th, respectively.

The event host, Thailand, is joined by China, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Scotland, and Zimbabwe which all qualified for the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 through regional tournaments.

According to event format, the eight sides have been divided into two groups with the top two from each group moving to the Trophy semi-finals and bottom two from each group playing in the Shield semi-finals. The teams contesting the Trophy final will qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 2016.

The 20 matches will be equally shared between the Thailand Cricket Ground (TCG) and Asian Institute of Technology Ground (AIT) with the former holding the Trophy play-off as well as the final on 5 December and the latter staging the Shield play-off and the final on the same day.

ICC Women’s Committee Chair and former England women’s captain Clare Connor welcomed the announcement, saying: “The announcement of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 schedule is great news as the eight sides can now start their focused planning and preparations

“It will be fascinating to see how this next tier of international teams compete against one another. This event will provide an opportunity to the Cricket Association of Thailand (CAT) to promote and market the game in its territory, an opportunity which will highlight the truly global appeal of the women's game.

“The regional qualifying tournaments, the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier and the ongoing ICC Women’s Championship are all testament to the fact that women’s cricket is thriving. With two ICC Women’s World Cups, two ICC World Twenty20s and two stand-alone ICC Women’s World Twenty20s to take place over the next seven years, these are unprecedented times for women’s cricket in terms of volume of cricket and give us a wealth of fantastic opportunities to enhance the profile of our sport.”

This is the second edition of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier, after the 2013 event was hosted by Ireland with Pakistan and Sri Lanka being adjudged as joint winners. Ireland was the third side to qualify for the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 2014.

The two groups are:

Event schedule

Sat, 28 Nov – Thailand v Bangladesh, TCG (1000-1245); Ireland v Netherlands, AIT (1000-1245); PNG v Scotland, TCG (1345-1630); China v Zimbabwe, AIT (1345-1630)

Sun, 29 Nov – China v Ireland, TCG (1000-1245); Scotland v Bangladesh, AIT (1000-1245); Zimbabwe v Netherlands, TCG (1345-1630); Thailand v PNG, AIT (1345-1630)

Tues, 1 Dec – Thailand v Scotland, TCG (1000-1245); Bangladesh v PNG, AIT (1000-1245); Zimbabwe v Ireland, TCG (1345-1630); Netherlands, China, AIT (1345-1630)

Thurs, 3 Dec – Trophy semi-final 1 (A1 v B2) (1000-1245), TCG; Shield semi-final 1 (A3 v B4), AIT (1000-1245); Trophy semi-final 2 (B1 v A2), TCG (1345-1630); Shield semi-final 2 (B3 v A4), AIT (1345-1630)

Sat, 5 Dec – Trophy third/fourth place play-off, TCG (1000-1245); Shield third/fourth place play-off, AIT (1000-1245); Trophy final, TCG (1345-1630); Shield final, AIT (1345-1630)