As the 13th edition of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup nears, we take a walk down memory lane of 52 years of history. The inaugural edition of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup marked the first time a tournament of its nature was held in cricket, with the men’s tournament only following two years later.
It began with two Wolverhampton natives Jack Hayward, a businessman, and England captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint.
Their brainstorming session in 1971 saw them devise the tournament that Heyhoe Flint skippered the home side to victory in two years later.
The Women’s Cricket World Cup 1973 was contested by seven teams, including a Young England side, with teams battling for 60 overs – not 50 – and a league table deciding the winners instead of a knock-out competition.
However, the final round-robin match was a winners-take-all affair as Enid Bakewell hit 118 for England to beat Australia by 92 runs to seal the title by three points.
India hosted and made their debut in the 1978 tournament, and they were joined by Australia, England and New Zealand.
The final match was again a de facto final, but this time Australia triumphed over the holders as tens of thousands of Indian cricket fans flocked to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad to watch.
The 1982 instalment saw the introduction of a final, as New Zealand hosted five teams, the four from 1978 plus an International XI.
It was a familiar match in the final as an unbeaten Australia took on England, and the contest went down to the penultimate over before the holders emerged victorious by three wickets.
Australia defended their trophy in 1988, again beating England in the final, but then failed to reach the 1993 final – the first time they had missed out.
The tournament returned to England that year as Denmark and the West Indies made their bow in an eight-team championship, following Ireland and the Netherlands’ debut in 1988.
Jan Brittin’s 48 was the top score in the final as England earned their second World Cup title by defeating the previously unbeaten New Zealand at Lord’s.
Australia were back on their perch in 1997 as a record 11 teams featured, and Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa joined for the first time.
The teams were split into two groups, and four from each progressed to the quarter-finals, with Australia and New Zealand marching all the way through the showpiece again.
Australia won the match by seven wickets, but New Zealand returned to win the title on home soil in 2000, beating Australia by just four runs in the year the tournament moved to 50 overs a side.
The year 2005 was a landmark year, as South Africa had the honour of hosting for the first time and India reached their first final, but Australia were again too strong, Karen Rolton’s unbeaten 107 steered them to a 98-run win.
The next three editions saw Australia and England trade the trophy. England defeated Australia in 2009 before Australia again beat a first-time finalist in 2013, this time in the shape of the West Indies.
In 2017, England were back on home soil and triumphed, beating India in a dramatic conclusion at Lord’s as Anya Shrubsole took six for 46.
Bangladesh made their debut in 2022 as Australia reached seventh heaven when they beat England in the final in Christchurch. Alyssa Healy posted 170, the highest score ever made in a World Cup final.
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This year, Sri Lanka join India in taking on some of the hosting duties for the first time, while Australia have their hopes set on defending the trophy, something they have not done since 1988.