A campaign that began with authority and ended in supremacy.
As Australian captain Sophie Molineux held aloft the ICC T20 World Cup trophy once again—a record 7th title in the tournament’s 10 year history—the real winner was, yet again, women’s sport. The highly professional and polished Australian team began this campaign with authority, unbeaten en route to Lords, and ended in supremacy. And whilst I was glued to my screen in admiration and adoration of the quality of play today, what took my breath away off the pitch was once again the magnificent crowds supporting women’s sport.
It was just a year ago when I wrote about the triumphant Lionesses and their fabulous success in the FIFA Women’s Euros. Soon after that the world watched England Roses capture a magnificent Rugby World Cup title in front of record crowds at Twickenham. The ICC Women’s T20 tournament continued that wave of energetic support these past few weeks, showing up in, once again, record crowds. The final at Lords on a glorious summer afternoon was sold out as 28,887 enthusiastic cricket fans (total tournament figures were 270,000) packed in to watch England attempt to repeat the success of 2009 when they beat New Zealand to become champions. Since then Australia has proved its dominance with now seven titles in this format; their performance has been nothing short of exemplary and text book cricket.
When England failed to produce a score closer to 200, the writing was on the wall; to me their 150 was clearly not enough to stop Australia’s charge despite a gallant effort by their captain Nat Sciver-Brunt; not out on 58. The Player of the Match, Player of the Series and second leading run scorer of the tournament, Australia’s Beth Mooney, achieved her 64 runs with such authority and dominance it looked like she was enjoying a leisurely session in the nets.
England’s Dani Wyatt-Hodge had her own show for a while as the Leading Run Scorer on 302 with 105 against Sri Lanka and 89 facing New Zealand, both wonderful to watch.
I could easily write detailed accounts about each of the games in this tournament that began on June 12 when England faced Sri Lanka at Edgbaston and continued unbeaten on its journey to Lords. There is so much to take away from this series that will linger forever in my memory. And while I have seen so many memorable performances with bat and ball in my long life there is one image that is now firmly imprinted in my mind that I can recall it at any time.
If you have watched South African Captain Laura Wolfvaart’s cover drive you will feel the vibe. Text book perfection that every aspiring batter aims for and all cricket fans admire. I have become one of Laura’s many fans and, call me obsessive, but I can watch her at the crease on constant replay. It is glorious to behold and when she wasn’t able to find her true form in this tournament I felt especially sorry that her that the team fell short in the semis against England. They had showed what a strong side they are with notable performances by Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba, and Tazmin Brits who was the highest run scorer with 114 against The Netherlands.
Like India, they started off the tournament strong and my heart was in their camp, while in reality the thunder of Australia had begun to stamp its authority from the start and it would have taken a braver pundit than me to bet against them. India though showed their own style of resistance with some glorious play from the likes of their stalwart captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma (5-10 against Pakistan) and Shree Charani whose 14 wickets was the most in the tournament.
The power play of the West Indies with some glorious hitting highlighted the contrasting styles in the sport. As new teams emerge we are treated to more of the strengths and talent that now abounds in the women’s game. And it was a treat to watch tournament rookies The Netherlands declare its credentials in the T20 game with some lovely cricket and they can truly be proud of their performances.
I couldn’t help wondering if I was in the minority or majority as I watched in awe at the evolution of the Scottish team who only joined the T20 tournament in 2024. Credit must go to Allrounder Kathryn Bryce and her sister and Wicket-keeper/batter Sarah Bryce. Their leadership has produced a team that’s more than worthy of this stage and which has been building since their World Cup debut in 2003.
Ireland too are no longer the poor relations in women’s cricket. They too have been quietly building their international squad and have a longer history than their neighbors. They will for sure have taken away valuable experiences on which to continue the growth of the game at home.
Twelve teams participated in this edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and with the emergence of teams like The Netherlands and Scotland, I’m excited to see how the game embraces other nations. It will be interesting too to watch the lesser experienced countries like the US develop their own teams in the fast growing sport. And how long before Canada joins its Commonwealth cousins who can teach them so much about the game.
Speaking of Commonwealth teams, there was a poignant moment at the end of the New Zealand – England Group Stage game when the sport showed its appreciation to three of its greatest players: the White Ferns former captain and great all-rounders Sophie Devine, another former captain and all-rounder Suzie Bates, and their longest serving fast bowler Lea Tahuhu who said farewell to the game with a guard of honor from both teams.
During these past few weeks I’ve enjoyed talking cricket with my local pharmacist, a normally reserved Indian women who immediately becomes animated at the chance of extolling the virtues of Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma. ‘It’s in our blood’ she says, and you don’t have to look any further than the Edgbaston ground for evidence of that as the local Indian community enthusiastically flew their flag.
And as we watch flags from more nations join in this format of the game, expanding the participation and development of women’s cricket, I am left in awe once more at the growth of women’s sport – the investment, sponsorship, media coverage, the grass roots game and the mass of fans. We are on a roll and the future is indeed very bright.
Remember it wasn’t very long ago that someone said ‘no-one watches women’s sport.’ I’m enjoying proving them wrong at every turn. Cricket, just like football and rugby, has not just arrived, it has soundly established itself, and generations to come will look at women playing on the hallowed turf at Lords to a full house as perfectly normal.
And finally, let’s also take a moment to recognize the inclusivity of the women’s game as we saw the England Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt carry her son Theo onto the pitch as her mascot with her wife Katherine Brunt watching from the boundary proving that women and cricket make the perfect partnership.
©️ Chris Stafford 2026
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