Women's Cricket World Cup

The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is the sport's oldest world championship, with the first tournament held in England in 1973. Matches are played as One Day Internationals (ODIs) over 50 overs per team (though the first five championships, from 1973 to 1993, were played at 60 overs per team). There is also another championship for Twenty20 International cricket, the ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

ICC Women's Cricket World Cup
ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Trophy
AdministratorInternational Cricket Council
FormatWODI
First edition1973  England
Latest edition2022  New Zealand
Next edition2025  India
Number of teams8 (10 from 2029)
Current champion Australia (7th title)
Most successful Australia (7 titles)
Most runsNew Zealand Debbie Hockley (1,501)
Most wicketsIndia Jhulan Goswami (43)

The World Cup is currently organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Until 2005, when the two organisations merged, it was administered by a separate body, the International Women's Cricket Council (IWCC). The first World Cup was held in England in 1973, two years before the inaugural men's tournament. The event's early years were marked by funding difficulties, which meant several teams had to decline invitations to compete and caused gaps of up to six years between tournaments. However, since 2005 World Cups have been hosted at regular four-year intervals.

Qualification for the World Cup is through the ICC Women's Championship and the World Cup Qualifier. The composition of the tournament is extremely conservative – no new teams have debuted in the tournament since 1997, and since 2000 the number of teams in the World Cup has been fixed at eight. However, in March 2021, the ICC revealed that the tournament would expand to 10 teams from the 2029 edition.[1][2] The 1997 edition was contested by a record eleven teams, the most in a single tournament to date.[3]

The twelve World Cups played to date have been held in five countries, with India and England having hosted the event three times. Australia is the most successful team, having won seven titles and failed to make the final on only three occasions. England (four titles) and New Zealand (one title) are the only other teams to have won the event, while India (twice) and the West Indies (once) have each reached the final without going on to win.

History edit

First World Cup edit

Women's international cricket was first played in 1934, when a party from England toured Australia and New Zealand. The first Test match was played on 28–31 December 1934, and was won by England.[4] The first Test against New Zealand followed early the following year. These three nations remained the only Test playing teams in women's cricket until 1960, when South Africa played a number of matches against England.[4] Limited overs cricket was first played by first-class teams in England in 1962.[5] Nine years later, the first international one day match was played in men's cricket, when England took on Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[6]

Talks began in 1971 about holding a World Cup for women's cricket, led by Jack Hayward.[7] South Africa, under pressure from the world for their apartheid laws, were not invited to take part in the competition.[8] Both of the other two Test playing nations, Australia and New Zealand were invited. Hayward had previously organised tours of the West Indies by England women, and it was from this region that the other two competing nations were drawn; Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. To make up the numbers, England also fielded a "Young England" team, and an "International XI" was also included.[7] Five South Africans were invited to play for the International XI as a means of compensation for the team not being invited, but these invitations were later withdrawn.[8]

The inaugural tournament was held at a variety of venues across England in June and July 1973,[9] two years before the first men's Cricket World Cup was played.[10] The competition was played as a round-robin tournament, and the last scheduled match was England against Australia. Australia went into the game leading the table by a solitary point: they had won four matches and had one abandoned. England had also won four matches, but they had lost to New Zealand.[9][11] As a result, the match also served as a de facto final for the competition. England won the match, held at Edgbaston, Birmingham by 92 runs to win the tournament.[12]

Finals edit

Year Host(s) Final venue Final Teams
Winners Result Runners-up
1973   England No final   England
20 points
England won on points
table
  Australia
17 points
7
1978   India No final   Australia
6 points
Australia won on points
table
  England
4 points
4
1982   New Zealand Lancaster Park, Christchurch   Australia
152/7 (59 overs)
Australia won by 3 wickets
scorecard
  England
151/5 (60 overs)
5
1988   Australia Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne   Australia
129/2 (44.5 overs)
Australia won by 8 wickets
scorecard
  England
127/7 (60 overs)
5
1993   England Lord's, London   England
195/5 (60 overs)
England won by 67 runs
scorecard
  New Zealand
128 (55.1 overs)
8
1997   India Eden Gardens, Kolkata   Australia
165/5 (47.4 overs)
Australia won by 5 wickets
scorecard
  New Zealand
164 (49.3 overs)
11
2000   New Zealand Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln   New Zealand
184 (48.4 overs)
New Zealand won by 4 runs
scorecard
  Australia
180 (49.1 overs)
8
2005   South Africa SuperSport Park, Centurion   Australia
215/4 (50 overs)
Australia won by 98 runs
scorecard
  India
117 (46 overs)
8
2009   Australia North Sydney Oval, Sydney   England
167/6 (46.1 overs)
England won by 4 wickets
scorecard
  New Zealand
166 (47.2 overs)
8
2013   India Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai   Australia
259/7 (50 overs)
Australia won by 114 runs
scorecard
  West Indies
145 (43.1 overs)
8
2017   England Lord's, London   England
228/7 (50 overs)
England won by 9 runs
scorecard
  India
219 (48.4 overs)
8
2022   New Zealand Hagley Oval, Christchurch   Australia
356/5 (50 overs)
Australia won by 71 runs
scorecard
  England
285 (43.4 overs)
8
2025   India To be confirmed 8

Results edit

Fifteen teams have qualified for the Women's Cricket World Cup at least once (excluding qualification tournaments). Three teams have competed at every tournament, the same three sides who have won a title: England, Australia and New Zealand.

Teams' performances edit

Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • SF – Losing semi-finalist (no third-place playoff)
  • QF – Losing quarter-finalist (no further playoffs)
  •     — Hosts
Team  
1973
(7)
 
1978
(4)
 
1982
(5)
 
1988
(5)
 
1993
(8)
 
1997
(11)
 
2000
(8)
 
2005
(8)
 
2009
(8)
 
2013
(8)
 
2017
(8)
 
2022
(8)
 
2025
(8)
Total
  Australia 2nd 1st 1st 1st 3rd 1st 2nd 1st 4th 1st SF 1st 12
  Bangladesh 7th 1
  Denmark 7th 9th 2
  England 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st SF 5th SF 1st 3rd 1st 2nd 12
  India 4th 4th 4th SF SF 2nd 3rd 7th 2nd 5th Q 10
  Ireland 4th 5th QF 7th 8th 5
  Netherlands 5th 8th QF 8th 4
  New Zealand 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 2nd 2nd 1st SF 2nd 4th 5th 6th 12
  Pakistan 11th 5th 8th 8th 8th 5
  South Africa QF SF 7th 7th 6th SF SF 7
  Sri Lanka QF 6th 6th 8th 5th 7th 6
  West Indies 6th 10th 5th 6th 2nd 6th SF 7
Defunct teams
International XI 4th 5th 2
  Jamaica 6th 1
  Trinidad and Tobago 5th 1
  Young England 7th 1

Debutant teams edit

Year Teams
1973   Australia,   England,   New Zealand, International XI,   Jamaica,   Trinidad and Tobago,   Young England
1978   India
1982 none
1988   Ireland,   Netherlands
1993   Denmark,   West Indies
1997   Pakistan,   South Africa,   Sri Lanka
2000 none
2005 none
2009 none
2013 none
2017 none
2022   Bangladesh
2025 TBD

No longer have ODI status.No longer exists.

Overview edit

The table below provides an overview of the performances of teams over past World Cups, as of the end of the 2022 tournament. Teams are sorted by best performance, then by appearances, total number of wins, total number of games, and alphabetical order respectively.

Appearances Statistics
Team Total First Latest Best performance Mat. Won Lost Tie NR Win%*
  Australia 11 1973 2022 Champions (1978, 1982, 1988, 1997, 2005, 2013, 2022) 84 70 11 1 2 85.47
  England 11 1973 2022 Champions (1973, 1993, 2009, 2017) 83 57 23 2 1 75.04
  New Zealand 11 1973 2022 Champions (2000) 80 51 26 2 1 65.82
  India 9 1978 2022 Runners-up (2005, 2017) 63 34 27 1 1 55.64
  West Indies 6 1993 2022 Runners-up (2013) 38 13 24 0 1 35.13
  South Africa 6 1997 2022 Semi-finals (2000, 2017, 2022) 38 15 22 0 3 40.54
  Pakistan 4 1997 2022 Super 6s (2009) 23 3 21 0 0 14.28
  Sri Lanka 6 1997 2017 Quarter-finals (1997) 35 8 26 0 1 23.52
  Ireland 5 1988 2005 Quarter-finals (1997) 34 7 26 0 1 21.21
  Netherlands 4 1988 2000 Quarter-finals (1997) 26 2 24 0 0 07.69
International XI 2 1973 1982 First Round (1973, 1982) 18 3 14 0 1 16.66
  Denmark 2 1993 1997 First Round (1993, 1997) 13 2 11 0 0 15.38
  Trinidad and Tobago 1 1973 1973 First Round (1973) 6 2 4 0 0 33.33
  Bangladesh 1 2022 2022 First Round (2022) 7 1 6 0 0 14.28
  Young England 1 1973 1973 First Round (1973) 6 1 5 0 0 16.66
  Jamaica 1 1973 1973 First Round (1973) 5 1 4 0 0 20.00

No longer have ODI status.No longer exists.

  • The Win percentage excludes no results and counts ties as half a win.
  • Teams are sorted by their best performance, then winning percentage, then (if equal) by alphabetical order.

Awards edit

Tournament records edit

World Cup records
Batting
Most runs Debbie Hockley   New Zealand 1,501 1982–2000 [13]
Highest average (min. 10 innings) Karen Rolton   Australia 74.92 1997–2009 [14]
Highest score Belinda Clark   Australia 229* 1997 [15]
Highest partnership Tammy Beaumont & Sarah Taylor   England 275 2017 [16]
Most runs in a tournament Alyssa Healy   Australia 509 2022 [17]
Bowling
Most wickets Jhulan Goswami   India 43 2005–2022 [18]
Lowest average (min. 500 balls bowled) Katrina Keenan   New Zealand 9.72 1997–2000 [19]
Best bowling figures Jackie Lord   New Zealand 6/10 1982 [20]
Most wickets in a tournament Lyn Fullston   Australia 23 1982 [21]
Fielding
Most dismissals (wicket-keeper) Jane Smit   England 40 1993–2005 [22]
Most catches (fielder) Janette Brittin   England 19 1982–1997 [23]
Team
Highest score   Australia (v Denmark) 412/3 1997 [24]
Lowest score   Pakistan (v Australia) 27 1997 [25]
Highest win %   Australia 87.36 [26]
Most Wins   Australia 79 [27]
Most Lost   India 31 [28]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Jolly, Laura (8 March 2021). "New event, more teams added to World Cup schedule". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  2. ^ "ICC announces expansion of the women's game". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Points Table | ICC Women's World Cup 1997". static.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b Heyhoe Flint & Rheinberg 1976, pp. 175–180.
  5. ^ Williamson, Martin (9 April 2011). "The low-key birth of one-day cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 19 September 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  6. ^ Williamson, Martin (22 June 2010). "The birth of the one-day international". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  7. ^ a b Heyhoe Flint & Rheinberg 1976, p. 168.
  8. ^ a b "World Cups 1926–1997". Women's Cricket History. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Women's World Cup, 1973 / Results". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  10. ^ Baker, Andrew (20 March 2009). "England women's cricketers aiming to lift World Cup for third time". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  11. ^ "Women's World Cup 1973 Table". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  12. ^ "21st Match: England Women v Australia Women at Birmingham, Jul 28, 1973". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  13. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  14. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Highest averages". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  15. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / High scores". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  16. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Highest partnerships by runs". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Most runs in a series". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  18. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  19. ^ "Women's World Cup / Best averages". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  20. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Best bowling figures in an innings". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 6 November 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  21. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Most wickets in a series". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  22. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Most dismissals". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  23. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Most catches". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  24. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Highest totals". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  25. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Lowest totals". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  26. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Result summary". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  27. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Result summary". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  28. ^ "Records / Women's World Cup / Result summary". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2012.

Bibliography edit

External links edit