2026 Women's T20 World Cup
 | |
| Dates | 12 June – 5 July 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | International Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | Women's Twenty20 International |
| Tournament format(s) | Group stage and Knockout stage |
| Hosts |
|
| Participants | 12 |
| Matches | 33 |
| Official website | icc-cricket.com |
The 2026 ICC Women's T20 World Cup will be the tenth edition of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, scheduled to be hosted by the England and Wales Cricket Board from 12 June to 5 July 2026. England had previously hosted the inaugural competition in 2009. A total of twelve teams will compete in 33 matches across seven venues in England.
The number of participants was increased from ten teams to twelve, which included a host team, top five teams from the previous edition, the two highest-ranked teams in the ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings not already qualified, and four other teams determined through a series of qualifiers. Netherlands qualified for the Women's T20 World Cup for the first time.
New Zealand are the defending champions, having won the 2024 edition.
Background
[edit]The ICC Women's T20 World Cup is a biennial world cup for women's cricket in Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was first played in 2009 in England, and the 2026 tournament marked its tenth edition.[1] The ninth edition, held in 2024 in the United Arab Emirates, was contested by 10 teams, and was won by New Zealand, who defeated South Africa in the final.[2]
Host selection
[edit]In July 2022, as part of the 2024–2027 ICC women's hosts cycle, the ICC announced that the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup would be played in England. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had previously hosted the inaugural competition in 2009.[3][4]
Format
[edit]The 12 qualifying teams are divided into two groups of six each. In the group stage, each team will play each of the other teams in the group once in a round-robin format, and the top two teams in each group would advance to the knockout stage, which consisted of two semi-finals, the winners of which faced off in the final.[5][6]
Schedule
[edit]In the 2025–2029 ICC Women's Future Tours Programme, the tournament was scheduled to be held in June–July 2026.[7] The ICC announced the tournament schedule on 24 February 2026, with the tournament scheduled to take place from 12 June to 5 July 2026. The teams will play 33 matches across seven venues in England.[8] On 10 July 2025, the ICC announced that warm-up matches would be played in two venues in England and one in Wales.[9][10]
Prize money
[edit]The prize money allocation for the tournament is yet to be revealed.
Marketing
[edit]![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (May 2026) |
Qualification
[edit]The host team England,[11] along with the top five teams from the 2024 tournament: Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies; directly qualified for the 2026 tournament.[citation needed] The remaining two direct qualification places were allocated to the next best-ranked teams in the ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings as on 20 October 2024, that had not finished in the top six: Pakistan and Sri Lanka.[citation needed] The four remaining places were filled through the global qualifier in February 2026: Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland.[12][13] Netherlands qualified for the women's T20 World Cup for the first time.[14]
| Method of qualification | No. of teams | Teams | WT20I ranking[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host | 1 |  England |
2 |
| 2024 Women's T20 World Cup (Top 5 teams from the previous tournament, excluding hosts) |
5 |  Australia |
1 |
 India |
3 | ||
 New Zealand |
4 | ||
 South Africa |
5 | ||
 West Indies |
6 | ||
| ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings | 2 |  Pakistan |
8 |
 Sri Lanka |
7 | ||
| 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier | 4 |  Bangladesh |
10 |
 Ireland |
9 | ||
 Netherlands |
14 | ||
 Scotland |
11 | ||
| Total | 12 |
- ^ The ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings as on June 2026, before the start of the tournament.[15]
Venues
[edit]In May 2025, the ECB confirmed the seven venues for the World Cup: Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham, County Ground in Bristol, Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds, Lord's and The Oval in London, Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester and Rose Bowl in Southampton.[16][17]
| Venues in England | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | Bristol | Leeds | London |
| Edgbaston Cricket Ground | County Ground | Headingley Cricket Ground | Lord's |
| Capacity: 25,000 | Capacity: 17,500 | Capacity: 18,350 | Capacity: 31,100 |
| Matches: 4 | Matches: 6 | Matches: 5 | Matches: 4 (Final) |
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| London | Manchester | Southampton | |
| The Oval | Old Trafford Cricket Ground | Rose Bowl | |
| Capacity: 27,500 | Capacity: 26,000 | Capacity: 25,000 | |
| Matches: 3 (Semi-finals) | Matches: 5 | Matches: 6 | |
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Squads
[edit]Each team is allowed a maximum squad size of 15 players and are required to submit the provisional squad to the ICC by [...] 2026. The teams were allowed to make changes to the squads until June 2026. Any changes after this would require permission from the ICC's technical committee.[citation needed]
Match officials
[edit]Match officials for the tournament are yet to be revealed.
Warm-up matches
[edit]The warm-up matches will be held at two venues in England: County Cricket Ground in Derby and Haslegrave Ground in Loughborough; and one in Wales: Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.[9][10]
Warm-up matches
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TBA |
Group stage
[edit]The ICC announced the groups and fixtures on 24 February 2026, with group stage played from 12 to 28 June.[8] The 12 teams were divided into two groups of six with each team facing the other teams in the group. The group stage featured a total of 30 matches.[5] The opening match will be played between England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston on 12 June. The following table lists teams in order of their initial group stage seedings.[6]
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
Group A
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the Knockout stage |
| 2 | Bangladesh
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | India
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | Netherlands
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | Pakistan
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 6 | South Africa
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) WT20I Rankings ahead of the tournament[6]
Group B
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England (H)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the Knockout stage |
| 2 | Ireland
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | New Zealand
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | Scotland
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | Sri Lanka
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 6 | West Indies
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) WT20I Rankings ahead of the tournament[6]
(H) Hosts
Knockout stage
[edit]The knockout stage will consist of two semi-finals played on 30 June and 2 July, and the final on 5 July.[5] The semi-finals will be played at The Oval with the final at Lord's. Group A winner and group B runner-up will play in semi-final 1 while, group B winner and group A runner-up will play in semi-final 2.[6]
Both semi-finals and the final has a reserve day available on 1, 3, and 6 July respectively. If a reserve day had come into play, the match would not have beeen restarted but instead resumed from the previous day's play, if there was any.[6] In the event of no minimum play (at least 10 overs per side) on the scheduled day and the reserve day, in the semi-finals, the team that finished higher in the group stage would progress to the final, and if no play were possible in the final, the teams would be declared as joint-winners.[6]
Bracket
[edit]| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| A1 |  TBA
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| B2 | TBA
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| SF1W | TBA
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| SF2W | TBA
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| B1 | TBA
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| A2 | TBA
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Semi-finals
[edit]Final
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Nalwala, Ali Asgar (21 October 2024). "Women's T20 World Cup winners: Australian cricket team's dominance unmatched, New Zealand reigning champions - full list". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2026. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
- ^ "Amelia Kerr delivers New Zealand's first-ever World Cup title". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ "Hosts for ICC Women's global events until 2027 announced". International Cricket Council. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "England to host 2026 T20 Women's World Cup". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ a b c [citation needed]
- ^ a b c d e f g h [citation needed]
- ^ "2025–2029 ICC Women's FTP" (PDF). ICC Women's Future Tours Programme. 2. International Cricket Council. 4 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Full fixtures for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 unveiled". International Cricket Council. 24 February 2026. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ a b "Warm-up venues confirmed for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026". International Cricket Council. 10 July 2025. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Cardiff, Derby and Loughborough to host warm-up games ahead of ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026". England and Wales Cricket Board. 10 July 2025. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
- ^ "England & Wales to host 2026 Women's T20 World Cup reveals International Cricket Council". BBC Sport. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
- ^ "Bangladesh and Netherlands qualify for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026". International Cricket Council. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ "Ireland and Scotland qualify for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026". International Cricket Council. 1 February 2026. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ "Netherlands, Bangladesh qualify for Women's T20 World Cup 2026". ESPN. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ "ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
- ^ "Lord's to host final of ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ "Venues, key dates announced for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 in England". International Cricket Council. May 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
- ^ a b 2026 Women's T20 World Cup, points table standings at ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ 2026 Women's T20 World Cup, fixtures and results at ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
External links
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