BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua will host the final of the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup later this year, the International Cricket Council confirmed yesterday.

In addition, the venue, named after the iconic former West Indies captain and batting star, will also stage the semi-finals of the November 9-24 tournament.

The venue is just one of three being used, with the Guyana National Stadium and the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia, selected to host the preliminary rounds.

“We are delighted to have Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana and St Lucia on board as hosts for the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 later this year,” said ICC chief executive, Dave Richardson.

“Of course, Windies women are the reigning ICC World Twenty20 champions and I’ve no doubt they’ll be looking to defend their title on home soil.

“We are keen to build on the momentum from this summer’s Women’s World Cup and I’m sure the players can rely on a warm welcome from the legendary cricket fans in the West Indies and we’re all in for a great experience in the Caribbean.”

The three venues were selected by Cricket West Indies through a bidding process late last year which followed a 12-day inspection tour by an ICC team of 11 venues in October.

Kensington Oval in Barbados, which hosted the 2010 T20 World Cup finals, will miss out this time around after the failure of government and the Barbados Cricket Association, to agree on the submission of a bid.

Trinidad and Tobago also did not submit a bid, leaving historic Queen’s Park Oval and the newly constructed Brian Lara Stadium without matches.

Tournament director, Jennifer Nero said the Caribbean’s hosting of the global tournament would have a positive impact on cricket in the region.

“We are excited to be hosting the very first stand-alone ICC Women’s World T20. This will add to the established passion for women’s cricket throughout our region,” she pointed out.

“This is significant not just for the advancement of the sport of cricket but also for the potential for sharing with the world the many irresistible offerings of the beautiful countries of the West Indies.”

West Indies Women will defend the title they won two years ago in India when they thrashed heavyweights Australia Women by eight wickets in the final in Kolkata.

They will be joined by England, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka, with the remaining two spots to be determined following an ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier in the Netherlands in July.

Windies Women’s skipper, Stafanie Taylor, said her side were motivated by the looming title defence.

“As captain of the defending champions, we are keen on defending our title and since we know we will be at home, we want to use this as an opportunity to welcome the world to the region for top-class competitive women’s cricket.”