T20 World Cup stars praise ICC for online protection programme

A host of star performers at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup have praised the ICC for their ongoing fight against online abuse via their dedicated protection programme.

More than 100 female cricketers have already signed up for the ICC Player Protection Programme, which is delivered in partnership with Freedom2hear (formerly GoBubble) and works with international cricketers to silence trolls on social media platforms.

There were over 50 new sign-ups before the start of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, while the service provides additional protection across official ICC social media accounts. Seven of the 12 teams competing at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 are protected, with umpires and broadcasters also registered.

After the first week of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, the tool had reviewed nearly 250,000 comments and removed almost 60,000 harmful pieces of content. More than 2,000 repeat offenders had temporary restrictions put on their interactions, and 370 users were blocked.

One of those star players at the T20 World Cup that is protected is England wicket-keeper-batter Amy Jones, who said: “I signed up to the service with the ICC and Freedom2hear to help with some of the toxicity that comes with social media for women in elite sports.

“It is something that we sadly have to deal with as international athletes in the public eye, and it can have a negative effect on you when you are simply trying to play the game to the best of your ability.

“We have a great relationship with the vast majority of our fans, and we love interacting with them in person and on social media, where we can show what it is like to do what we do. But the downside is that there are people who choose to abuse you instead, so it is great that there are companies who are trying to clean things up and offer us some protection.

“And for the ICC to be fully supportive in providing this kind of service is fantastic. It is a programme that puts our wellbeing at the forefront, and that is a good thing.”

India’s Radha Yadav also highlighted the growing “toxicity” of social media as a reason for joining the programme.

"Social media can be such an amazing resource for me to interact with friends, family and fans all over the world, but it's also become an increasingly toxic space, especially for female athletes,” said Yadav.

"It's important to talk about this openly and find solutions to the problem, which is why I signed up for the ICC Player Protection Programme."

First introduced ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, the programme is a key component of the ICC’s wider approach to player wellbeing and safeguarding.

The programme has been operated across all ICC events since then, helping participants engage confidently with fans while reducing exposure to harmful online content.

Scotland’s Sarah Bryce was an early adopter in 2024 and says the ICC Player Protection Programme has “made a massive difference”.

“It's nice having that peace of mind because a lot of the players, the young players in particular, use social media a lot,” said Bryce.

“It's important we find ways to make social media as safe a place as possible, especially for the youngsters coming through who are probably more active on social media, and probably more susceptible to being affected by comments. So, I think it's massively important, and it’s great that the ICC are on board and giving all players the opportunity to have this protection.”

The non-intrusive technology allows individual parameters to be tailored by the players themselves in conjunction with Freedom2hear, and players can join the programme at any point via remote onboarding during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.