The ICC say the total viewing hours during the Women's World Cup increased by 300 per cent ©Getty Images

The amount of viewing hours across the globe during this year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s World Cup increased by 300 per cent compared to the previous tournament.

Figures released by the ICC after the tournament, which finished last month with hosts England beating India in the final, suggest the amount of people who watched an hour of the tournament tripled.

A viewing hour is determined as one person watching 60 minutes of cricket, two watching 30 minutes and so on.

Along with this, India’s journey to the final helped the total viewing hours increase by 500 per cent in the country, where cricket is considered the national sport.

There was also a massive increase in South Africa, who made the semi-finals, with an increase of 861 per cent reported.

On top of this, the ICC said more than 180 million people watched the tournament and there were one billion Facebook impressions during the competition.

India's progression to the World Cup final is considered to have helped increase television figures ©Getty Images
India's progression to the World Cup final is considered to have helped increase television figures ©Getty Images

It is believed a decision by the ICC to either televise or live-stream all of the tournament’s matches for the first time played a big part in the increases.

"We are absolutely delighted with the impact the Women’s World Cup has had," ICC chief executive David Richardson said.

"Instinctively, we felt that the time was right to invest in women’s cricket and take it to the widest possible audience to accelerate the growth of the game and these numbers have confirmed that.

"The sport must now work collectively to maintain interest and continue to drive growth."