ICC unveils new women\\\'s championship

LONDON, Jan 29 (AFP): A new international championship, which will determine qualification for the next Women's World Cup, was announced by the International Cricket Council Wednesday.

The bilateral competition will involve the top eight ranked women's teams in the world-including England, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, India and Pakistan.

They will all play the others in a series of matches between mid-2014 to the end of 2016, with the top six qualifying automatically for the 2017 Women's World Cup in England.

Unlike changes to the men's international programme announced Tuesday, there will be promotion and relegation at the end of the first cycle.