As the 10th edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup prepares to get underway across England this week, the world’s top women’s cricket teams are set to clash for the sport’s most coveted short-format global title, with an unprecedented surge in fan interest and growth marking a new watershed moment for women’s cricket.
Dominance is a word that has become synonymous with Australia’s women’s cricket program across the history of white-ball world championships. The country’s national side has claimed 13 world titles across all white-ball formats, more than the combined total of every other competing nation. Entering this tournament as the top-ranked side in the world, Australia is favored to lift a seventh T20 World Cup trophy, even as the team navigates a generational reset after ending a five-year global trophy drought that stretched back to 2017. Six-time champion Alyssa Healy has stepped back from the leading lineup, handing the captaincy to Sophie Molineux, with Beth Mooney taking over wicketkeeping duties and rising star Georgia Voll locked in as opening batter. Australia’s strength remains formidable: Voll and Mooney rank as the world’s top two batters in T20 cricket, all-rounder Ellyse Perry is chasing her seventh world title, and allrounder Annabel Sutherland is widely tipped as a contender for player of the tournament. Still, Australia faces a brutal test in Group A, where one of Australia, India, or South Africa will fail to advance to the semifinals — a result Australia has never suffered in the history of the tournament.
Chasing their first T20 World Cup title, India enters the tournament riding a wave of momentum and renewed confidence, fueled by massive investment that has closed the gap on long-dominant sides. Fresh off the men’s team claiming back-to-back T20 World Cups, the Indian women won their first ODI World Cup in November 2024, and in February this year, they notched a historic milestone: their first T20 bilateral series win over Australia since 2017, and their first series victory on Australian soil in a decade. “There’s a belief in the team now that we can beat anybody in this world,” Indian seam bowler Arundhati Reddy said of the side’s newfound confidence. Much of India’s progress traces back to the launch of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in 2023, modeled after the wildly successful men’s Indian Premier League, eight years after Australia launched the Women’s Big Bash League. The franchise competition has cultivated a bold, aggressive batting style among India’s top players including Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, and veteran captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who is leading India at her 10th T20 World Cup, and came closest to lifting the trophy in the 2020 tournament final.
South Africa, the third contender in Group A’s battle for semifinal spots, has also built a strong contender after reaching the last three world finals across T20 and ODI formats. To address the team’s overreliance on in-form captain Laura Wolvaardt — who boasts an average of 54 across 13 innings in 2025 — the Proteas have convinced two legendary veterans to come out of retirement: 37-year-old fast bowler Shabnim Ismail, who still dominates batters in global franchise competitions, and former captain Dane van Niekerk, who stepped away in controversy ahead of the 2023 T20 World Cup. Rounding out Group A are Pakistan, Bangladesh — making their first appearance at a women’s T20 World Cup hosted in England — and the Netherlands, who are competing in the tournament for the first time as qualifiers.
The 2025 tournament marks the first edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup expanded to 12 teams, split into two groups. Group B is set to feature three former world champions: second-ranked hosts England, New Zealand, and the West Indies, joined by Ireland, Scotland and Sri Lanka. The tournament opens Friday in Birmingham with a match-up between England and Sri Lanka.
England has received a major boost ahead of the tournament, with star captain Nat Sciver-Brunt cleared to play after a calf tear forced her to sit out recent home series wins over New Zealand and India. Sciver-Brunt will not bowl until the later stages of the tournament, but her availability at the crease eases widespread fitness concerns that dogged England at the last edition of the tournament. Coach Charlotte Edwards, who captained England to victory at the inaugural 2009 T20 World Cup, has made squad fitness a core priority for this tournament.
New Zealand, the 2024 defending champion, brings 10 players from its title-winning side into this year’s tournament, led by top-ranked allrounder and new captain Melie Kerr. The tournament will mark the final international event for veteran stars Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu, who share nearly 900 international caps between them. “To have our three most senior players all finishing their careers at the same tournament is a rare and special occasion,” coach Ben Sawyer said.
The West Indies enter the tournament on a high, after claiming a tri-nations series win over Ireland and Pakistan last week, bouncing back from consecutive home series sweeps by Sri Lanka and Australia. The side is led by captain Hayley Matthews and veteran leg-spinner Afy Fletcher. Sri Lanka’s squad is headlined by trailblazing batter Chamari Athapaththu, who has indicated the 10th edition may not be her last tournament. Ireland, making their fifth appearance at the T20 World Cup, will be looking to break a 17-match losing streak, while Scotland warmed up for the tournament with a home tri-nations series win over Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals scheduled at The Oval, with the final set to take place at Lord’s on July 5, capping 33 matches played across 24 days. Every knockout fixture has been scheduled with a reserve day to account for weather disruptions.
Off the pitch, the 2025 tournament continues the rapid growth trajectory of women’s cricket. Ticket sales passed the previous tournament record of 136,546 set at the 2020 edition in Australia weeks ago, and have now surpassed 160,000, with on-track projections pointing to a total of 200,000 tickets sold by the end of the tournament. Prizemoney has also received a 10% increase from the 2024 tournament, rising to a total of $8.76 million, with the champion side taking home $2.34 million.