UAE Secures Women’s ODI Status, USA Loses Spot
ICC grants UAE women's cricket team official ODI status, highlighting rising Associate strength as USA loses spot
UAE Women Secure ODI Status for 2025-29 Cycle as USA Lose Spot
In a significant reshuffle by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the UAE women’s cricket team has been granted One Day International (ODI) status for the 2025–2029 cycle, replacing the USA in the list of 16 teams with official ODI recognition. This new cycle will come into effect on May 12, 2025.
The updated list includes five Associate nations — Thailand, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Scotland, and now UAE. While the first four have retained their ODI status through recent performances and T20I rankings, UAE has been awarded ODI status for being the next-highest-ranked Associate team on the T20I rankings at No. 16 during the ICC’s annual update.
Thailand and Scotland secured their spots by qualifying for the Women’s ODI World Cup Qualifier held recently. Scotland performed strongly in the qualifiers, defeating teams like West Indies and Thailand to finish fourth, while Thailand ended last after losing all five of their matches. Despite this, they were still recognized in ODI thanks to their impressive T20I rankings, which placed Scotland at 12th and Thailand at 11th. With their respective T20I rankings of 13th and 15th, PNG and the Netherlands maintained their standing as well.
The United States women’s team, which had previously held ODI status, lost their position in the rankings after the United Arab Emirates surpassed them. The USA is currently competing in a bilateral series against Zimbabwe, having lost the T20I series 2-1 but winning the first ODI. The second and final ODI is scheduled soon.
The ICC mandates that all ODI-status teams must play a minimum of eight ODIs within a three-to-four-year window to retain or improve their ranking.
Australia continues to dominate the top of the women’s ODI rankings, holding a rating of 299 and widening their lead over second-placed England, which now stands at 20 points.
While the USA’s demotion is a setback for their women’s cricket program, the achievement marks a major step forward for UAE women’s cricket as they prepare for more opportunities on the international stage.
