Zimbabwe’s women will head to New Zealand early next year for six white-ball matches that double as a first step on the road to the 2029 ODI World Cup.
The trip, pencilled in for 25 February to 11 March 2026, includes three T20Is in Hamilton (25, 27 Feb and 1 Mar) followed by three one-dayers in Dunedin (5, 8 and 11 Mar). Those ODIs form part of the ICC Women’s Championship – the qualifying league that ultimately decides who reaches the next 50-over World Cup. It will be Zimbabwe’s maiden appearance in the competition and the first time the two nations have met in women’s internationals of either format.
“It is a proud and exciting moment for us as Zimbabwe Women prepare to compete at the highest level of the global game,” Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Givemore Makoni said. “This is not only a testament to how far our women’s cricket has come, but also a strong endorsement of our vision and investment in developing the women’s game.”
The Championship has been expanded from ten to eleven teams for the 2025-29 cycle. Afghanistan remain the only Full Member without a side in the tournament, their programme having stalled after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Under the new schedule Zimbabwe are slated to play eight three-match ODI series – four at home (South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Ireland) and four away (New Zealand, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan). Results across those fixtures will feed into a league table; the top sides qualify automatically for the 2029 World Cup, with the rest heading to a global qualifier.
On the park, the tour offers an early gauge of where Joseph Angus’s squad sit against established opposition. Zimbabwe have played only 26 women’s ODIs to date, all against Bangladesh, Ireland or Pakistan. Facing New Zealand, a former World Cup winner and regular semi-final contender, is therefore both a step up and a chance to measure progress made since gaining ODI status in 2021.
Preparation at home has already started, with a domestic 50-over competition due to run through October and November. Coaches hope the extra match practice will help players adjust to Dunedin’s cooler conditions and the tactical demands of Championship cricket – powerplays, fielding restrictions and an insistence on maintaining over-rate discipline.
