The Spin | Women’s T20 World Cup: team-by-team guide to the tournament

Published 10 June 2026 · sports

Group A Australia Coach Shelley Nitschke Captain Sophie Molineux WT20WC best: Winners 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2023 Si time champions Australia may still be

Group A Australia Coach Shelley Nitschke Captain Sophie Molineux WT20WC best: Winners 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2023 Si time champions Australia may still be the bookies’ favourites, but for the first time it’s possible to imagine a scenario where they don’t make the semi-finals - Group A is by far the tougher. By choosing left-arm spinner Molineux as their new captain in January, they’ve arguably backed themselves into a selection corner, with the leg-spinner Alana King likely to be left out of the XI despite being their most effective bowler on the recent tour of the West Indies. View image in fullscreen Ellyse Perry, the great Australia all-rounder, will be playing at her 10th Women’s T20 World Cup. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA Molineux’s own match fitness is also far from a sure thing: she has ongoing back issues, her bowling capacity may well be limited, and if she was not captain then there is no way she would be selected in this team as a pure batter. One is rather reminded of a remark from W1A’s marketing guru Siobhan Sharpe: “We are where we are, and that’s never a good place to be.” Key player Ash Gardner She was reportedly gutted not to have been made captain but, after a relatively dry spell, the all-rounder needs to accept it, move on and step up with the bat. Bangladesh Coach Sarwar Imran Captain Nigar Sultana Joty WT20WC best Group stages 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2023, 2024 This World Cup will be unfamiliar territory for Bangladesh, literally: they have never previously toured England. “It will be very challenging for us,” Joty admitted at the captains’ press conference on Sunday. “The wickets and the conditions are totally different from Asia.” They have been acclimatising by playing a tri-series in Edinburgh against Scotland and the Netherlands but the results - two wins, two losses - were not particularly encouraging. View image in fullscreen Bangladesh lost against Ireland and New Zealand in their official warm-up games. Photograph: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC/Getty Images Key player Marufa Akter The 21-year-old had England in tatters in October’s 50-over World Cup with her hooping inswing, and will be Bangladesh’s key strike bowler in this format too. India Coach Amol Muzumdar Captain Harmanpreet Kaur WT20WC best Runners-up 2020 India are a tough team to make predictions about. Their stated aim is to emulate the achievement of Meg Lanning’s Australia and become a team who dominate world cricket for a generation. They made a good start on that process in Navi Mumbai last November when they romped home in the 50-over World Cup final. Since then they have visited Australia and handed them a T20 series defeat, followed that up by losing 4-1 to South Africa, and darted between the sublime and the ridiculous against England, eventually losing 2-1. View image in fullscreen Harmanpreet Kaur led India to their first senior women’s ICC title, the 2025 ODI World Cup. Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images The rollercoaster nature of that series was epitomised by the fortunes of Yastika Bhatia, who made a match-winning half-century on her return to the side after a two-year injury-enforced absence, only to be controversially retired out two days later at Bristol. Watch out for pace bowler Nandani Sharma, who made her international debut last month against England on the back of a WPL hat-trick and has looked the goods.