EXPLAINER
From tournament format to venues and top players to watch, here’s Al Jazeera’s guide to the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Published On 29 Sep 2025
Women’s cricket will take centre stage when eight nations compete in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Women’s World Cup 2025 in India and Sri Lanka from Tuesday.
Australia are the defending champions and record seven-time winners of the one-day international (ODI) competition , but in-form India are favourites to break their World Cup drought at home.
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Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament:
When are the first match and final of the Women’s World Cup?
The World Cup begins when India host Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday and will conclude with the final on Sunday, November 2.
Why will some World Cup games be played in Sri Lanka if India is the official host?
While India was confirmed as the tournament’s official host earlier this year, Sri Lanka was added as a neutral venue for games involving Pakistan.
It came as a result of an ICC-brokered agreement between India and Pakistan that allows both countries the option of playing their games at a neutral venue for a tournament hosted by either South Asian nation. The neighbours have not visited each other for a bilateral cricket competition in 13 years and shared an intense four-day military and aerial conflict in May.
Guwahati is set to host the first semifinal but the venue will change to Colombo if Pakistan qualify for the last four.
Navi Mumbai will host the second semifinal, which will be India’s designated last-four clash if they qualify.
The venue for the final can also be moved to Colombo should Pakistan enter their first Women’s World Cup final.
Where are the venues of the Women’s World Cup?
- Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai, India
- Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, India
- Holkar Stadium, Indore, India
- Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, India
- R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Which teams are in the Women’s World Cup, and how did they qualify?
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- England
- India
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
India qualified on the basis of their hosting rights, while Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka qualified as the top five teams in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25.
Bangladesh and Pakistan entered the tournament by finishing first and second in the World Cup qualifiers.
When and where is the India vs Pakistan match in the Women’s World Cup?
The archrivals will face-off on Sunday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
India have beaten Pakistan in all ODI matches played between the two nations since 2005, with their last win coming at the ICC World Cup 2022 in South Africa.
What’s the format and schedule of the Women’s World Cup?
The tournament’s main round will be played in the round-robin format between September 30 and October 26.
The top four teams at the end of the group stage will qualify for the semifinals on 29 and 30 October.
The final will be played on November 2.
The updated match schedule for #CWC25 is out now 🏆
All the action starts on 30 September! 🗓️
✍️: https://t.co/EArFubvvlg pic.twitter.com/yqYfPbHzbM
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) August 22, 2025
Which teams are favourites to win the Women’s World Cup?
- Australia: The Southern Stars’ supremacy in women’s cricket is undeniable, with their record seven titles in the ODI World Cup and six in the T20 World Cup proof of their status as the world’s best team. Alyssa Healy’s team is packed with the world’s top batters, bowlers and all-rounders and will be the favourite to defend the title they won in South Africa.
- India: The hosts came very close to lifting their first World Cup trophy in 2017, when they lost the final to England, and will look to go one better on home turf. India enjoy the services of arguably the world’s best batter in Smriti Mandhana, as well as some in-form bowlers and all-rounders. They have won 10 of their last 14 ODIs, including three against higher-ranked opponents.
Who are the players to watch at the Women’s World Cup?
- Smriti Mandhana (India)
- Deepti Sharma (India)
- Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka)
- Sophie Ecclestone (England)
- Megan Schutt (Australia)
- Ellyse Perry (Australia)
- Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa)
- Amelia Kerr (New Zealand)
- Sidra Amin (Pakistan)
- Nahida Akter (Bangladesh)
Which are the five best group-stage matches of the World Cup?
- India vs Pakistan on October 5 at 09:30 GMT
- India vs Australia on October 12 at 09:30 GMT
- India vs England on October 19 at 09:30 GMT
- Australia vs England on October 22 at 09:30 GMT
- Australia vs South Africa on October 25 at 09:30 GMT
Who are the past champions of the Women’s World Cup?
- 1973: England
- 1978: Australia
- 1982: Australia
- 1988: Australia
- 1993: England
- 1997: Australia
- 2000: New Zealand
- 2005: Australia
- 2009: England
- 2013: Australia
- 2017: England
- 2022: Australia
What’s the prize money for the Women’s World Cup?
- Total prize money for the tournament: $13.88m
- Champions: $4.48m
- Runners-up: $2.24m
- Losing semifinalists: $1.12m each
- Fifth and sixth place finishers: $700,000 each
- Seventh and eighth place finishers: $280,000 each.
How can I buy tickets for the Women’s World Cup?
Tickets for all group-stage games are available on the ICC’s ticketing website, and prices start at $1.
