Brazil's Roberta Avery, India's Vijeylaxmi Narasimhan picked in ICC Future Leaders Programme

Brazil captain Roberta Avery, USA Cricket board member and batter Nadia Gruny, and Indian referee Vijeylaxmi Narasimhan are among a total of 40 women from 29 ICC member countries who will be mentored as part of the inaugural ICC 100% Cricket Future Leaders Programme, designed to support emerging women leaders in cricket.

Greg Barclay, the ICC chair, former Pakistan Women captain Sana Mir and former West Indies bowler and now broadcaster Ian Bishop are among the mentors.

In a statement, ICC described the programme as a part of its "long-term commitment to accelerate the growth of women's cricket and women in cricket", and said that there had been more than 300 applicants from 45 different countries before the final 40 had been selected.

"The initial intake will be split into two batches and the programme, which (is) designed to address the low percentage of women in leadership positions in global cricket and build a pipeline of new female leaders in cricket will get underway with batch one beginning this month," the statement said.

"The first two batches reflect the diversity of our regions and their areas of focus, and all have received outstanding endorsements from their respective Member Boards," Claire Furlong, ICC general manager - marketing and communications, said in the statement. "The next six months will be incredibly exciting, and we look forward to a productive learning experience for our mentees."

Batch 1

• Mentor: Greg Barclay (governance and board); Mentee: Nadia Gruny (USA)
• Mentor: Wasim Khan (management); Mentee: Joanna Taylor (ICC)
• Mentor: Andrea Nelson (senior management and events); Mentee: Fizza Abid (Pakistan)
• Mentor: Steve Elworthy (governance and board); Mentee: Tracey Pitt (Bermuda)
• Mentor: Michelle Enright (commercial and business of cricket); Mentee: Ewa Ostaszewska (Ireland)
• Mentor: Hilton Moreeng (coaching); Mentee: Helmien Rambaldo (Netherlands)
• Mentor: Claire Polosak (match officiating); Mentee: Vijeylaxmi Narasimhan (India)
• Mentor: Sana Mir (player growth); Mentee: Benafsha Hashimi (Afghanistan)
• Mentor: Divya Gokulnath (commercial and overall leadership); Mentee: Anna Shaw (England)
• Mentor: Anthony Everard (fan engagement); Mentee: Vaishali Jesrani (Oman)
• Mentor: Sharda Ugra (media and journalism); Mentee: Roberta Morretti Avery (Brazil)
• Mentor: Ian Bishop (broadcasting); Mentee: Xolile Mabuza (South Africa)
• Mentor: Dhiraj Malhotra (game development and events operations); Mentee: Caitlin Spencer (Australia)
• Mentor: Christina Matthews (development); Mentee: Iriho Veronique (Rwanda)
• Mentor: Gemma Davies (digital communications); Mentee: La Donna Williams (West Indies)
• Mentor: Jodie Hawkins (leadership and senior management); Mentee: Mariamma Hyder (Kuwait)
• Mentor: Lisa Keightley (coaching); Mentee: Naome Kayondo Bagenda (Uganda)
• Mentor: Karren Rogers (digital partnerships and fan engagement); Mentee: Nicole Dunn (New Zealand)
• Mentor: Will Glenwright (development); Mentee: Rosy Ryan (Scotland)
• Mentor: Chris Tetley (events and development); Mentee: Charilitah Wambui (Kenya)

Mentees for Batch 2 (starting November 2021)
Tuba Sangar (Afghanistan), Joan Norton (Australia), Lucy Pringle (England), Stephanie Frohnmayer (Germany), Tammy Chu (Hong Kong), Laura Peacock (ICC), Harini Rana (India), Niamh O'Shea (Ireland), Nicky Britten (New Zealand), Ijeoma Azubuike (Nigeria), Marina Iqbal (Pakistan), Margaret Sibona (Papua New Guinea), Samantha Hickman (Peru), Shivani Mishra (Qatar), Stella Siale Vaea-Tangitau (Samoa), Abbi Aitken (Scotland), Karen Smithies (South Africa), Michell Pereira (Sri Lanka), Amanda Reifer (West Indies), Mary-Anne Musonda (Zimbabwe).