Tauranga has been named one of six host cities of the ICC Women's World Cup New Zealand 2021, with a semi-final to be held at Bay Oval and some exciting pool matches still to be announced.

The biennial ICC World Cup brings together top women's cricketing teams from around the world, including New Zealand, Australia and current World Cup champions England, in a round robin style tournament.

The 2021 tournament, from February 6 to March 7, is comprised of 28 pool matches, two semi-finals and a final in Christchurch at Hagley Oval – all of which will be televised live. In 2017, the ICC Women's World Cup reached a global broadcast audience of 180 million and every indication is that the tournament profile will continue to grow.

Tauranga Mayor Tenby Powell says it's tremendous news that Tauranga has been selected as one of only six host cities.

'We are delighted to partner with the ICC, our fellow-host cities and stakeholders to present a world-class sporting tournament, enabling our communities to experience the best in women's cricket at one of New Zealand's premier cricket grounds.

'We are particularly proud to be part of the growing global movement empowering women and girls through sport and recreation. This elite event provides us with the perfect opportunity to genuinely contribute to the vision of women's sport in Aotearoa.”

ICC Women's Cricket World Cup CEO Andrea Nelson says selecting the right venues is hugely important.

'Our goal was to ensure all 31 matches will be played at the best venues, encompassing a geographic spread that ensured as many Kiwi cricket fans as possible get to engage with the tournament.

'We're excited to have Tauranga on board as one of our six host cities. Topping off several round robin matches with a semi-final in the beautiful city of Tauranga will be a great way to kick off the business end of this global event.”

Bay Oval general manager Kelvin Jones says its selection to host matches firmly puts the cricket ground among the best in New Zealand and is another significant achievement in the life of the Bay Oval.

'After hosting Cricket World Cup qualifying matches and under-19 Cricket World Cup matches, including the final, hosting a World Cup will be an absolute honour.”

Hosting large sporting events not only brings athletes, enthusiasts and fans from around the world to Tauranga, it also showcases the city to an international audience and builds local community pride.

It's estimated that the ICC Women's World Cup New Zealand 2021 will generate 9000 visitor nights and inject more than $1.8m of tourism spending in the city.

The full match schedule will be announced in March.