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ICC Women's Cricket World Cup

Administrator	International Cricket Council
Format	WODI
First edition	1973  England
Latest edition	2022  New Zealand
Next edition	2025  India
Number of teams	8 (10 from 2029)
Current champion	Australia (7th title)
Most successful	Australia (7 titles)
Most runs	Debbie Hockley (1,501)
Most wickets	Jhulan Goswami (43)

The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is the (sport's oldest world championship, with the first tournament held in England in 1973) quadrennial international championship of Women's One Day International Cricket tournament. 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.

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. The 1997 edition was contested by a record eleven teams, the most in a single tournament to date.

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

Women's Cricket World Cup winners

Year	Champions
1973	England
1978	Australia
1982	Australia (2)
1988	Australia (3)
1993	England (2)
1997	Australia (4)
2000	New Zealand
2005	Australia (5)
2009	England (3)
2013	Australia (6)
2017	England (4)
2022	Australia (7)

First World Cup

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. 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. Limited overs cricket was first played by first-class teams in England in 1962. 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.

Talks began in 1971 about holding a World Cup for women's cricket, led by Jack Hayward. South Africa, under pressure from the world for their apartheid laws, were not invited to take part in the competition. 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. 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.

The inaugural tournament was held at a variety of venues across England in June and July 1973, two years before the first men's Cricket World Cup was played. 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. 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.

Results

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.

Finals

Year	Host(s)	Final venue	Final			Teams	Winning Captain
			Winners	Result	Runners-up
1973	England	No final	England 20 points	England won on points table	Australia 17 points	7	Racheal Heyhoe Flint
1978	India	No final	Australia 6 points	Australia won on points table	England 4 points	4	Margaret Jennings
1982	New Zealand	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	Australia 152/7 (59 overs)	Australia won by 3 wickets scorecard	England 151/5 (60 overs)	5	Sharon Tredrea
1988	Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	Australia 129/2 (44.5 overs)	Australia won by 8 wickets scorecard	England 127/7 (60 overs)	5	Sharon Tredrea
1993	England	Lord's, London	England 195/5 (60 overs)	England won by 67 runs scorecard	New Zealand 128 (55.1 overs)	8	Karen Smithies
1997	India	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	Australia 165/5 (47.4 overs)	Australia won by 5 wickets scorecard	New Zealand 164 (49.3 overs)	11	Belinda Clark
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	Emily Drumm
2005	South Africa	SuperSport Park, Centurion	Australia 215/4 (50 overs)	Australia won by 98 runs scorecard	India 117 (46 overs)	8	Belinda Clark
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	Charlotte Edwards
2013	India	Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai	Australia 259/7 (50 overs)	Australia won by 114 runs scorecard	West Indies 145 (43.1 overs)	8	Jodie Fields
2017	England	Lord's, London	England 228/7 (50 overs)	England won by 9 runs scorecard	India 219 (48.4 overs)	8	Heather Knight
2022	New Zealand	Hagley Oval, Christchurch	Australia 356/5 (50 overs)	Australia won by 71 runs scorecard	England 285 (43.4 overs)	8	Meg Lanning
2025	India	To be confirmed				8

Teams' performances

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	Q	12
Bangladesh												7th		1
Denmark					7th	9th								2
England	1st	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	SF	5th	SF	1st	3rd	1st	2nd	Q	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	Q	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

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

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	12	1973	2022	Champions (1978, 1982, 1988, 1997, 2005, 2013, 2022)	93	79	11	1	2	84.94
England	12	1973	2022	Champions (1973, 1993, 2009, 2017)	92	62	27	2	1	67.39
New Zealand	12	1973	2022	Champions (2000)	87	54	30	2	1	62.06
India	10	1978	2022	Runners-up (2005, 2017)	70	37	31	1	1	52.85
West Indies	7	1993	2022	Runners-up (2013)	46	16	28	0	1	34.78
South Africa	7	1997	2022	Semi-finals (2000, 2017, 2022)	46	20	24	0	2	43.47
Pakistan	5	1997	2022	Super 6s (2009)	30	3	27	0	0	10.00
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	20.58
Netherlands	4	1988	2000	Quarter-finals (1997)	26	2	24	0	0	7.69
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.

• Teams are sorted by their best performance, then winning percentage, then (if equal) by alphabetical order.

Awards

Player of the Tournament Year Player Performance details 1988 Carole Hodges 336 Runs / 12 Wickets 1993 1997 2000 Lisa Keightley 375 Runs 2005 Karen Rolton 246 Runs 2009 Claire Taylor 324 Runs 2013 Suzie Bates 407 Runs 2017 Tammy Beaumont 410 Runs 2022 Alyssa Healy 509 Runs

Player of the Final Year Player Performance details 1982 1988 1993 Jo Chamberlain 38 (33) / 1/28 (9) 1997 Debbie Hockley 79 (121) 2000 Belinda Clark 91 (102) 2005 Karen Rolton 107* (128) 2009 Nicky Shaw 4/34 (8.2) 2013 Jess Cameron 75 (76) 2017 Anya Shrubsole 6/46 (9.4) 2022 Alyssa Healy 170 (138)

Other results

Results of host teams Year Host Team Finish 1973  England Champions 1978  India 4th place 1982  New Zealand 3rd place 1988  Australia Champions 1993  England Champions 1997  India Semi-finalists 2000  New Zealand Champions 2005  South Africa 7th place 2009  Australia 4th place 2013  India 7th place 2017  England Champions 2022  New Zealand 6th place 2025  India

Results of defending champions Year Defending champions Finish 1978  England Runner-ups 1982  Australia Champions 1988  Australia Champions 1993  Australia 3rd place 1997  England Semi-finalists 2000  Australia Runner-ups 2005  New Zealand Semi-finalists 2009  Australia 4th place 2013  England 3rd place 2017  Australia Semi-finalists 2022  England Runner-ups 2025  Australia

Tournament records

World Cup records

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

See also

• ICC Women's Championship
• ICC Women's T20 World Cup
• ICC Women's T20 Champions Trophy
• Cricket World Cup

References

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. ^ 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. ^ Heyhoe Flint & Rheinberg 1976, p. 168.
8. ^ "World Cups 1926–1997". Women's Cricket History. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
9. ^ "Women's World Cup, 1973 / Results". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
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Bibliography

• Heyhoe Flint, Rachael; Rheinberg, Netta (1976). Fair Play: The story of women's cricket. London: Angus and Robertson. ISBN 0-207-95698-7.

External links

• Women's World Cup match records from the International Cricket Council
• Cricinfo Women
• ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2008–09
• Winning Squads

• Women's Cricket World Cup
• Women's world championships
• Recurring sporting events established in 1973
• International Cricket Council events
• Women's One Day International cricket competitions
• World championships in cricket
• World cups