HIGH HOPES – Your Women’s T20 World Cup Preview

Cricket as a sport is the realm of upper-class, cucumber-sandwich-eating men and takes days on end, right? 

Wrong! 

This year, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is being hosted in England, and Dakota Johnson is here to answer all your questions about the competition and the world of women’s cricket. 

What is T20 cricket exactly?

T20 cricket is a shorter form of the game. Each team faces 20 overs, and each over is six balls – so essentially each team gets 120 deliveries each. The team with the most runs after 20 overs, wins.

Whilst a typical game of cricket spans a full day or multiple days, T20 takes around three to four hours on average, making it the most popular format to watch and play. 

Are England taking part? And crucially, are they any good?

Yes and yes. 

As the host country, England qualified automatically but even without that, England’s pedigree would almost certainly have seen them qualify.  Currently ranked second in the world, England have won the Women’s Cricket World Cup four times (which is One Day International format), and the first ever Women’s T20 World Cup at the competition’s inaugural event in 2009 – which they also hosted. 

So it’s fair to say there’s a lot of history at play, and a lot of expectation on home soil. 

For better or for worse. 

Anything else to know about England?

Well, there is one small, slightly confusing matter to be addressed. 

Technically, “England” as a team is England and Wales, overseen by the same board but playing just under the name England.  Because of this, the tournament is technically hosted by England and Wales, despite the team being called England and all the host cities being in, well, England. 

Have you got that? Great, glad we’ve cleared that up.

What about the other home nations? Are they all England too?

Now that would be silly!  But, seriously: no. 

Ireland compete as an all-Ireland side, represented as a single country, meaning Northern Ireland don’t have their own official team. They’re in England’s group and should have some strong support behind them. 

Recently, they got their first ever win over the West Indies – another team made up of more than one country –  thanks to a star performance from all-rounder Orla Prendergast, who hit 71 from 46 deliveries, earning herself Player of the Match. 

Whilst Ireland aren’t expected to go deep into the tournament, they have shown growth in recent years and will be looking to make their mark in England this summer.

Scotland, meanwhile, really are just Scotland.  Also in England’s group, this will be their second appearance at a T20 World Cup, and they’ll be hoping to build on their performance in 2024.  Captained by all-rounder Kathryn Bryce, they have beaten the Netherlands and potential dark horses Bangladesh (more on them later) in the run-up to the tournament. 

They also have former England player Kirstie Gordon in their team, who was part of the England squad that finished runners-up in 2018. Due to a slightly complicated rule surrounding overseas players (yep, that included Scottish), Gordon had to give up playing for Scotland in order to compete for Loughborough Lightning. 

However, a welcome change in those rules means this is no longer the case and Gordon can play for Scotland again.  This will be a big boost for them. After years playing professionally in England, she’ll bring a huge amount of skill and experience into the tournament. 

Right, back to England – who are their best players?

England’s captain Nat Sciver-Brunt has survived a close-call injury scare and will be fit to play for England.  The 33-year-old tore her calf playing for her team, The Blaze, earlier in the season. It was feared she may not be fit for the tournament but having rested and rehabilitated through recent matches, she is ready to go. 

It looks unlikely that she’ll bowl but it’s her runs England will need most.

Charlie Dean has admirably stood in as captain for Sciver-Brunt’s place during recent matches.  Dean, 25, is an all-rounder who made her debut for England in 2021, making her an experienced replacement captain. In England’s pre-tournament games Dean has shown exactly why she was chosen for the role, playing a key part in England’s recent hard fought win over New Zealand. 

England won’t be short of talent. 

Sophie Ecclestone, 27, made her debut around 10 years ago and has been a key part of England’s previous success. The bowler had a particularly difficult time during England’s difficult Ashes campaign in 2025, and has spoken candidly about her personal struggles. But she’ll be ready to take wickets in the coming weeks. Both she and England will be looking to prove a point on the world stage. 

In general, England seem to have high highs and low lows – something that seems to be a continued spectre over English national teams in all sports.  Ultimately though, England have a strong team and some decent recent results to back them up.  Perhaps the true test will be whether they can hold their nerve on home soil.

Who should England be worried about?

Well as always, Australia are a potential thorn in England’s side, alongside giant cricketing nations New Zealand and India.  Australia are currently world number one but will be without Alyssa Healy – an all-time great of the game – as the 36-year-old retired earlier in the year.

The Aussies will hardly be without a wealth of talent, though. 

Bowler Sophie Molineux will captain the side for the first time, while young batter Georgia Voll will be making her tournament debut after a selection dilemma saw a couple of notable names left out. 

Voll currently plays for Queensland Fire in the Women’s National Cricket League and Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League in her native Australia – after spending some time playing in India.  

Meanwhile, New Zealand are looking quietly confident.  The White Ferns are the reigning T20 world champions and are captained by the experienced and brilliant all-rounder, Melie Kerr. They’ve had some decent results in the build-up, including a draw against England and wins over South Africa and India. 

The tournament will be all-time great Suzie Bates’ last T20 World Cup, as she recently announced she will be retiring following the tournament.  With 4,717 runs to date in T20 internationals, she is all-time leading run-scorer.  Having her for one last competition is a massive plus to New Zealand.  And who knows, given it’s her last chance, Bates may be the one who spurs New Zealand all the way to the trophy again. 

Currently ranked fourth in the world, New Zealand are by no means favourites to take home the trophy. But they weren’t last time either.

And of course, we can’t forget to talk about India. There’s no country on earth more cricket-mad, and this translates to their women’s team.  The current Women’s ODI Cricket World Cup holders go into the competition full of confidence.

But, surprisingly, victory in England this year would be their first time lifting the T20 World Cup. With four players making their T20 World Cup debut and a history of underachieving in the competition, lifting the trophy this time around may still be just out of reach. 

Let’s not be naive, though.  On paper, they’re still one of the best teams in women’s cricket. 

They recently played England, with 25-year-old batter Jemimah Rodrigues playing a key role in what was a pretty tight contest. If she can take that into the World Cup, other teams will be feeling very nervous. 

Fellow batter Yastika Bhatia shouldn’t be overlooked as a threat, either, despite some voicing concerns about her run rate. Their 37-year-old captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, brings much-needed experience and level-headedness to what is a relatively young India team. 

Any potential dark horses?

Bangladesh could be a threat.  And South Africa will be.

South Africa are ranked fifth in the world and have been strong in recent months. They also had a great showing at last year’s ODI Women’s World Cup.

Shabnim Ismail has come out of retirement for the competition, which is a huge gain for them. Ismail is South Africa’s all-time top wicket-taker and one of the fastest bowlers in women’s cricket, so even at 37 she will be a massive threat. 

Meanwhile, captain Laura Wolvaardt will of course be in the squad, alongside Nadine de Klerk.  De Klerk has been one of South Africa’s key players in recent years. Her fighting spirit will be a big asset and may well be the difference between winning and losing for South Africa. 

The Proteas have been runners-up at the last two T20 World Cups, and will be looking to make things right this time round by going one step further. 

Bangladesh may be the real dark horses, though. The Tigresses are currently tenth in the world, but are on a good run and very nearly beat South Africa in October.  Captained by wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana Joty, they could easily cause an upset on their day. 

Having beaten teams such as Namibia, Thailand and Scotland in the build up to the tournament, they know they can compete well in this format. Bowler Sultana Khatun may be the key to good results. Known for her accuracy and control, she could be a great asset in England’s slower conditions. 

Bangladesh have struggled recently to pick up results against traditional giants of the game but writing them off would be a mistake.

Feeling a bit more clued up now – where can I watch?

Now that’s the most important question. You can find all you need to know about tickets and TV scheduling below. 

Plus, you can find further previews for individual teams here on our website. Plus a quick start guide to the T20 format.

The T20 Women’s World Cup runs from 12th June to 5th July 2026.
For tickets go to the ICC website: https://tickets.womens.t20worldcup.com/selection/event/date?productId=10228814154367

All games will be shown on Sky Sports and NOW. Select games will be free to view on Sky Mix and the Sky Sports app (see below).

Friday 12th June
18.30 England v Sri Lanka, Edgbaston*

Saturday 13th June
10.30 Scotland v Ireland, Old Trafford*
14.30 Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford
18.30 West Indies v New Zealand, Southampton

Sunday 14th June
10.30 Bangladesh v Netherlands, Edgbaston
14.30 India v Pakistan, Edgbaston

Tuesday 16th June
14.30 New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Southampton
18.30 England v Ireland, Southampton

Wednesday 17th June
10.30 Australia v Bangladesh, Headingley
14.30 India v Netherlands, Headingley
18.30 South Africa v Pakistan, Edgbaston

Thursday 18th June
18.30 West Indies v Scotland, Headingley

Friday 19th June
18.30 New Zealand v Ireland, Southampton

Saturday 20th June
10.30 Australia v Netherlands, Southampton
14.30 Pakistan v Bangladesh, Southampton
18.30 England v Scotland, Headingley

Sunday 21st June
10.30 West Indies v Sri Lanka, Bristol
14.30 South Africa v India, Old Trafford

Tuesday 23rd June
10.30 New Zealand v Scotland, Bristol
14.30 Sri Lanka v Ireland, Bristol
18.30 Australia v Pakistan, Headingley

Wednesday 24th June
18.30 England v West Indies, Lords

Thursday 25th June
14.30 India v Bangladesh, Old Trafford
18.30 South Africa v Netherlands, Bristol

Friday 26th June
Sri Lanka v Scotland, Old Trafford

Saturday 27th June
10.30 Pakistan v Netherlands, Bristol
14.30 West Indies v Ireland, Bristol
18.30 England v New Zealand, Oval

Sunday 28th June
10.30 South Africa v Bangladesh, Lords
14.30 Australia v India, Lords

Tuesday 30th June
14.30 Semi-final 1, Oval

Thursday 2nd July
18.30 Semi-final 2, Oval

Sunday 5th July*
14.30 Final, Lords

UK and Republic of Ireland
*Free-to-air on Sky Mix (Freeview channel 11; Freesat channel 144; Sky channel 151).
England v Sri Lanka will also be available on Sky’s YouTube channel.
England, Scotland, and Ireland’s remaining group fixtures will be available for free on the Sky Sports app.
All other games will be live on Sky Sports.

Other territory broadcasters:
Netherlands – NOS TV & ICC.tv
India – Star Sports & JIO Hotstar
Australia – Amazon Prime Video
New Zealand – Sky Sports
Bangladesh – Rabbithole & ICC.tv
Sri Lanka – Dialog TV/TV Supreme/Star Sports
Pakistan – Myco/PTV/Geo Super/Tamasha/Tampad
Caribbean Islands – ESPN
Middle East and North Africa – Starzplay
USA and Canada – Willow TV
Singapore – Hub Sports 4 & ICC.tv
Malaysia and Hong Kong – CricBuzz & ICC.tv
Pacific Islands – TVWAN Sports & ICC.tv
Latin America – Disney+
Rest of the World – ICC.TV

Credits: ICC, Clare McEwen