Women's T20 World Cup: Preview

Dubai and Sharjah will host the ninth edition of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup following the late decision to move the tournament from Bangladesh due to security concerns. The tournament gets underway on Thursday with Bangladesh, who are still the official hosts, playing Scotland in Sharjah and this will be followed by Pakistan against Sri Lanka at the same venue.

The group stage is 'short and sharp' and will again consist of just 20 matches after the 10 participants were divided into two groups of five:

Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand

Group B: England, South Africa, Bangladesh, Scotland and West Indies

The knockout stage consists of two semi-finals (featuring the top two teams from each group) and a final. These will be staged at night in Dubai where dew is likely to be a prominent factor as it was in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup of 2021.

Australia will, once again, go in as favourites as they look to add a seventh title to their burgeoning collection of World Cup honours. However, the neutral venue will bring other teams into the equation including England and India. Sri Lanka, who beat India in the Asia Cup earlier this year, have an outside chance following some impressive wins in bilateral series including against England in September 2023.

For Australia their experience and depth of all-round talent will stand them in good stead over the next few weeks. As a side, they have plenty of tournament-winning experience and can deal with the pressure moments at the back end of the tournament.

Dealing with pressure is something the England camp admits they did not do particularly well during the 2023 semi-final against South Africa. It has been a core focus to correct this and build the confidence of the group of players and as a result have been one of the best teams in the T20 format since that tournament. 11 of this squad were in the 15 for the last World Cup with only Bess Heath, Linsey Smith, Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson (who was a reserve player) replacing Kate Cross, Katherine Sciver-Brunt, Lauren Winfield-Hill and Freya Davies.

India will also prove a tough challenge with a star-studded batting line-up and some handy bowlers. Deepti Sharma's improvements as a genuine all-round cricketer will stand them in good stead as will Richa Ghosh's strike rate of 140.52; a number that she can match with an average of just under 30.

South Africa took advantage of playing at home during the last World Cup and made it through to the final. On this occasion, they will be without Shabnim Ismail and their overall T20I form has been patchy since the last tournament. They beat Pakistan 2-1 but lost to Sri Lanka and Australia. As a result, they will be very reliant on Marizanne Kapp and Laura Wolvaardt, with the latter leading the side in a major tournament for the first time.

Elsewhere, Scotland could cause a surprise but only if the Bryce sisters can hit top form. The pair have been involved in a successful domestic season with The Blaze and played a key role in ensuring their qualification at the expense of Ireland. Their opening game against Bangladesh provides the best opportunity for this upset to occur.

The return of the big-hitting Deandra Dottin offers some hope to a West Indies line-up that includes Hayley Matthews and Stefanie Taylor. New Zealand and Pakistan are likely to struggle following a tough run of results even though the latter have Sadia Iqbal who is ranked third in the ICC T20 rankings.