The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup has been played since 1973 and is the oldest world championship in women’s cricket. The matches were played using 60 overs per innings but that has recently changed to 50 overs, with each country batting once. Organised by the International Cricket Council, we have seen many tremendous tournaments and England have come out on top 4 times.
Women’s World Cup 1973
As mentioned previously, the 1973 World Cup was the first for women’s cricket and was held in England. Interestingly, there was no final in this competition and England won the tournament by finishing top of the group on 20 points. The English team won 5 of their 6 matches, beating an International XI, Jamaica, Young England, Trinidad and Tobago, and Australia. The only defeat was at the hands of New Zealand in a match shortened by rain. Enid Bakewell, Lynne Thomas, and Rachael Heyhoe Flint were the pick of the players for England, all averaging over 80 runs with the bat.
Women’s World Cup 1993
We must fast forward 20 years to find the next success for England at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. Like the 1973 event, the 1993 Women’s Cricket World Cup was hosted by England but there was a change in the format. This time, the top two teams from the group stage played in a final. The final was an exciting game, with over 4,000 fans at Lord’s. England batted first, scoring 195/5 before bowling New Zealand out for 128 to win the final in style.
Women’s World Cup 2009
The 2009 Women’s Cricket World Cup was held in Australia and was the first time England won the tournament on foreign soil. The 2009 event saw the 8 teams split into two groups, with the top three teams from each group progressing to the Super Six stage. Played in a round-robin format, England won 5 of their 6 matches to finish second in the group and face their old rivals, New Zealand in the final. New Zealand batted first and recorded a competitive 166 but thanks to Caroline Atkins scoring 40 off 85, England won with a few overs to spare.
Women’s World Cup 2017
The 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup produced one of the most dramatic finishes we have seen in the history of the tournament. Having topped the group stage with 6 wins from 7 matches, England faced South Africa in the semi-final and won by 2 wickets. That set up a meeting with India in the final. England set a target of 229 runs to win, with Nat Sciver excelling with the bat. She made the balls spin as fast as the slot game symbols like those on the Starburst slot. Punam Raut and Harmanpreet Kaur wrestled the match back in favour of the Indians thanks to a 95-run fourth-wicket partnership but the dismissal of Kaur, followed by Raut led to a batting collapse. England took India’s last 7 wickets for only 28 runs to win the tournament.
Conclusion
The Women’s Cricket World Cup has been full of exciting games, with the players competing to become the best in the world. Women’s cricket continues to grow and pick up new fans.
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