The Women’s Cricket World Cup which was first held in 1973, has evolved tremendously over the years. We have been part of some fantastic matches among which the Australia and England teams had the most complete dominance over the years.
Thus, let us a have a short glance at all the Women’s Cricket World Cup winners from 1973 till now.
1973 – England
The Women’s World Cup of 1973 was the first to ever take place and it was two years before the men’s ODI World Cup began. Additionally, the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC) was responsible for the women’s tournament since it was not under ICC’s jurisdiction.
The competition was played in a single round-robin format, where each victory scored four points for the winning team and one point for a tie or no result.
As there was no knockout stage, the table toppers, England, claimed the title in 1973. England printed five victories out of six matches, thus receiving 20 points to the top the table.
1978 – Australia
India, which was yet to play its ODI debut, was the place of the second edition. Originally, six teams were asked to come, but only four teams – Australia, England, New Zealand, and India – took part in the competition.
The 1978 edition also followed the same single round-robin format as the previous edition. At the end of the group stage, Australia came out as the table toppers invincible and got a golden World Cup title.
1982 – Australia
The next tournament went to New Zealand which is the island country. A total of five teams took part – four from the earlier edition and the fifth was International XI.
The third edition’s format changed to a triple round-robin, then a final. The top two, Australia and England, met in the final.
First on the batting order, England could only score a scant 151 runs in 60 overs. On the other hand, Australia batters were in a similar situation after three quick dismissals. However, they played smart and emerged victorious by three wickets.
Thus, Australia crowned itself the winner of the Women’s World Cup for the second time in a succession.
1988 – Australia
Australia, the reigning champion, was well prepared to secure the title in their own country in 1988. The tournament had five participants – Australia, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
After the round-robin of matches, the nemesis of cricket, Australia and England, encountered the finale. England’s previous final encounter where they could manage only 127 runs was repeated. The hosts had no difficulty at all in their chase.
The Australian girls not only retained their title but also achieved a hat trick of wins over all competitions.
1993 – England
The venue of the tournament was England, and hence things reverted to the original scenario. The five participating teams expanded into eight with India making a comeback and Denmark and the West Indies joining in.
After winning all seven matches, New Zealand topped the points table, with England trailing just behind them. England’s six victories guaranteed them an appointment in the final.
The English batters fought back and made a total of 195 runs batting first. The New Zealand girls were impeded by the tight bowling and could only manage 128 runs.
This victory over New Zealand not only brought England their second World Cup trophy, but also both their triumphs were won on home ground.
1997 – Australia
The number of teams was raised to 11 (in addition to the host team) in the sixth edition, which took place in India, with Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka making their tournament debuts. The teams were divided into two groups of 6 and 5 respectively.
Following the group stage, the two best-performing teams from each group progressed to the semi-finals. New Zealand and Australia were the two teams that won the semi-finals to meet in the final.
New Zealand opted to bat first, but just three batters made contributions that were good enough to be in double digits. Debbie Hockley was the highest scorer with an innings of 79 runs and pushed their total to 164 runs.
Australia’s top order while chasing the target contributed a lot by helping win the match by five wickets. And it also won the world title for the fourth time.
2000 – New Zealand
The number of competing teams was cut down to eight with Denmark, Pakistan, and the West Indies not making the cut. All teams were placed in one group with the top two moving on to the semi-finals.
The New Zealanders, who were the home side, and the Australian team reached their second consecutive final. In the first innings, New Zealand managed to score 184 runs.
The target was not too large for the Australian side; nevertheless, New Zealand restricted the Aussies to a total of 180 runs thus winning the match by a narrow margin of just four runs. And with this, New Zealand were declared the world champions for the first time.
2005 – Australia
This was the final edition held by the IWCC before it joined forces with the International Cricket Council (ICC). The 2005 edition was hosted in South Africa and had eight participants.
The group stage and semi-final matches ended with Australia and India facing off for the final match. Under the captaincy of the very young Mithali Raj, India made its first final appearance.
India had a great run in the tournament with only one loss, but the Aussie challenge was a little too much for them. The Australians defeated India by 98 runs and claimed their fifth Women’s Cricket World Cup.
2009 – England
The very first edition which was held under the control of the ICC, and at the same time, the ninth edition in total was held in 2009 in Australia. A new format was introduced for this edition, consisting of a group stage, followed by a super six stage and then the knockouts.
In the end, New Zealand and England were there to fight for the trophy. England first bowled out the Kiwis for 166 and later went to negotiate for the target with the loss of only 4 wickets.
So, with the victory over New Zealand, they again lifted the prized possession the third time.
2013 – Australia
The transfer of the trophy was ongoing between Australia and England as the tenth edition was hosted in India. After the knockouts, the conclusive match of Australia and the West Indies was decided.
Australia were already there, and they made the highest score of 259 runs. The target was hard for the West Indies as they were all out for 145 runs, which means Australia won the game by 114 runs.
The Australian women’s team clinched the World Cup again making a total of six!
2017 – England
The event returned to the format used in 2005 where all teams were placed in one group and each of them played once. India reached finals after defeating the then champions, Australia in the semi-final. While the hosts England beat South Africa to make it to the finals.
Bowling attack of India was quite effective which made it difficult for England to score big as the latter managed 228 runs. Later, it looked like India was on the way to the first World Cup win, they however got affected by the pressure and lost wickets in quick succession with the target close.
England’s Anya Shrubsole made the most of the situation and picked up two wickets to restrict India to 219 runs, thus, winning the match by nine runs. Later, England was crowned champs for the fourth time.
2022 – Australia
The twelfth edition had been scheduled for 2021 but was rescheduled for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The final match was the showdown between archrivals Australia and England for the highly sought-after trophy.
The Australian batters brutally attacked the English bowlers and posted a massive total of 356 runs. Healy, the keeper-batter, was the main scorer for them with a 170-run innings.
On the other hand, England had trouble hitting regularly and only Nat Sciver-Brunt (148*) was able to support her. The Aussies bowled out England for 285 and took the trophy from them.
