ICC Women's T20 World Cup: A brief history

The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup starting from February 21 is the seventh edition of the biennial tournament. Australia will host the event for the first time.

Published : Feb 20, 2020 16:01 IST

Veda Krishnamurthy and Harmanpreet Kaur of India and Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland of Australia pose during an Australia and India ICC Women's T20 World Cup Media Opportunity at Sydney Opera House.
Veda Krishnamurthy and Harmanpreet Kaur of India and Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland of Australia pose during an Australia and India ICC Women's T20 World Cup Media Opportunity at Sydney Opera House.
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Veda Krishnamurthy and Harmanpreet Kaur of India and Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland of Australia pose during an Australia and India ICC Women's T20 World Cup Media Opportunity at Sydney Opera House.

The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup (T20 WC) starting from February 21 is the seventh edition of the biennial tournament. Australia will host the event — which began in 2009 in England — for the first time this year.

Australia is also the defending champion and most successful team in the competition's history. In six prior editions, only three nations have gone all the way and lifted the trophy, with the Aussies doing it a record four times. England and West Indies are the other winners, while New Zealand is the only other team to make the final.

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Over the years, 10 teams have taken part in this competition. The first three Women's T20 WCs (2009, 2010 and 2012) had only eight teams - Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies. Bangladesh and Ireland joined in 2014, when the tournament became a 10-team affair, and were part of the 2016 and 2018 editions, alongside the other eight countries. Thailand will make its T20 WC debut after out-qualifying Ireland in last September's qualifying tournament in Scotland.  

From 2009 to 2016, the women's tournament was held in the same country as the men's World T20. The 2018 edition in West Indies was the first instance when the women's version was conducted separately. Once again in 2020, despite the same host nation, the women's T20 WC will have a window that will not coincide with the men's competition, which begins on October 18 this year.

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England is still the only host to win the World T20. It was victorious in the inaugural women's T20 WC after beating New Zealand by six wickets in the final. Australia won the next three editions - 2010, 2012 and 2014 - in West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh respectively.

West Indies finally broke the Australian streak when it defeated the three-time defending champion by eight wickets in 2016 final in Kolkata, India. However, the Aussies claimed the title yet again in 2018 after defeating England by eight wickets in the summit clash in West Indies, which became the first country to host the women's World T20 more than once.

Overall, Australia has made the final five times, missing out only during the inaugural year. Meanwhile, England has reached the summit clash four times, losing thrice to Australia. New Zealand lost both the finals it has featured in so far, while West Indies won the only final it played.

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India and South Africa are the only other teams to have made the last-four at the women's T20 WC. India's best performance is a semifinal finish in the 2009, 2010 and 2018 editions, while South Africa had a solitary knockout-stage finish at the 2014 tournament. The likes of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Ireland are yet to make it past the first round.

Find below the sides which finished in the top-four in each edition of the ICC women's T20 world cup:

 

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