Dunedin takes its turn today.
The city is hosting three games.
Bangladesh plays the much-improved South Africa at the University Oval today.
The Bangers are back in action on Monday with a tough assignment against the home side. And England plays the West Indies at the venue on Wednesday.
There is a touch of irony in that the tournament was delayed a year because of Covid-19.
New Zealand avoided a widespread outbreak until the recent arrival of Omicron.
The country is now experiencing 20,000-plus cases a day, so the threat it presents will stalk the tournament.
Earlier this week, Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner became the first player to test positive and has gone into isolation.
Covid has forced organisers into thinking outside the square. Games may have to be rescheduled and, as a last resort, teams can play with just nine players instead of 11.
That would have previously been unthinkable.
Crowds are limited to 10% of the capacity of venues which will strip some colour from the event.
There will not be any crowds flooding on to the field as they did when the White Ferns won the tournament in 2000.
But the television audience is expected to reach more than a billion fans. The ICC, the world body, has stated it will be ‘‘the most widely distributed women’s cricket event of all time".
Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins said the tournament will be an exciting moment in international sporting history.
"This is the first time Dunedin has been part of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, which is a real milestone," he said.
‘‘Remarkably, it will also be the first time local legend Suzie Bates will play an ODI in her hometown of Dunedin as a White Fern."
The eight-team tournament runs for month with the final scheduled for Hagley Oval in Christchurch on April 3.
It is the first of three major women’s sporting events being hosted in New Zealand in the next 18 months.
New Zealand and Australia are joint hosts of the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, and New Zealand is hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup in October and November.
