Vanessa Williams, the American actress of Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives fame, is on the surface an unlikely candidate to spearhead the launch of a Cricket World Cup.
However, at Lord’s on Thursday Williams formed part of an all-female panel – alongside World Rugby player of the year, Ellie Kildunne, and Nobel peace prize winner (and former Oxford University cricketer) Malala Yousafzai – which officially kickstarted the countdown to the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, to be held in England.