Packed schedule for international women's cricket

While West Indies' women have no fixtures planned for the next few years, the rest of the international women's calendar, as it stands, is a healthy one. South Africa are taking their ambitions to qualify for the 2009 World Cup seriously.

They have the World Cup qualifiers in Lahore in November - and so are heading to Europe this summer, firstly to Netherlands to act as a warm-up for the European Championships and then on to England. Netherlands will, in turn, head to South Africa in early 2008.

India have a packed schedule, although for them it'sactually a relatively sedate one. They've played 34 one-dayers in the last 15 months, and they will be grateful, no doubt, for a seven-month break before they host neighbouring Sri Lanka for a Test and five ODIs.

They then have the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka at the end of the year, before another gap of eight months. They head on to England for five one-dayers before hosting them in December 2008, mirroring the home-and-away ties they had with England last year. The 2008 Asia Cup then follows - the venue has not been confirmed - while commitments for 2009 so far comprise the World Cup and the Asia Cup.

The ICC have confirmed New Zealand are on tour this July and August, travelling to Australia for five ODIs and a Twenty20, and then on to England with six ODIs and three Twenty20s.

A gap of six months follows for them, before they host both of those teams in March 2008 - their only matches that year. As the program stands, their next international cricket will be 11 months later, hosting the Rose Bowl in February, immediately before the World Cup in Australia.

The Rose Bowl is also the last time Australia will play before they host the World Cup the following year as per the current schedule. They have only two months of internationals pencilled in so far for 2008 - in February they will contest the Ashes against England, before their New Zealand trip. Whoever wins that Ashes series faces the prospect of losing them just over a year, as the two sides meet again in England in 2009.

Pakistan have the World Cup qualifiers to look forward to hosting, and will of course contest the Asia Cup every year. Other than that, there are no plans for other matches.