When and where is it?
The 10th edition of the women’s T20 World Cup begins on June 12 when England take on Sri Lanka at Edgbaston.
England is hosting the tournament for the second time, having previously been the home of the inaugural women’s tournament in 2009. It’s the first women’s ICC event staged in the UK since the 2017 ODI World Cup.
The group stage runs until June 28, followed by semi-finals on June 30 and July 2 before the winner is crowned on July 5 at Lord’s.
The 2026 women’s T20 World Cup will be contested by 12 nations, up from 10 at the previous six events, split into two groups of six. The Netherlands have qualified for the first time, while Ireland have returned after missing out on the 2024 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Australia are in Group A alongside India, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands, with their tournament opener against the Proteas to be played on June 13 in Manchester.
Before that, the Aussies head to Cardiff for a pair of warm-up matches against England and West Indies at Sophia Gardens.
Who is broadcasting the tournament?
All 33 matches will again be shown exclusively live and free on Prime Video in Australia. Amazon’s subscription streaming service holds the Aussie broadcast rights for all ICC events until the end of 2027. There is no free-to-air Australian television broadcast under the deal.
But you do not need a paid subscription to watch the World Cup. You only need to have a Prime Video login. You can sign-up here.
The platform will take the ICC-produced world feed. If joining the broadcast late, Prime Video offers a ‘rapid recap’ feature, which will bring fans up to speed on the best action so far.
Prime Video will also produce on-demand highlights packages after every match along with full match replays, available immediately after the match has finished.
How’s the time difference?
Not as bad as some might fear! Matches are being played across the day in England, with start times of 10.30am, 2.30pm or 6.30pm local.
If you’re on the east coast, you might need some coffee to stay awake for Australia’s World Cup opener against South Africa on Saturday, June 13, which will be beamed into loungerooms at 11:30pm AEST.
The Aussies’ second match against Bangladesh on Wednesday, February 17 starts in primetime at 7:30pm AEST, as does their showdown against the Netherlands on Saturday, June 20.
Less friendly is their encounter with Pakistan, to be played at 3.30am AEST on Wednesday, June 24, while Australia’s final group game against India begins at 11.30pm on Sunday, June 28.
Should Australia qualify for the semi-finals, the first begins at 11.30pm on Tuesday, June 30, followed by the second semi on Friday, July 3 at 3.30am. The final will be played at Lord’s, with the first ball to be bowled at 11.30pm on Sunday, July 5.
What are the host venues?
Matches are spread across seven venues, with Australia’s games scheduled for at least four of those.
Edgbaston in Birmingham, Manchester’s Old Trafford, Headingley in Leeds, Southampton’s Rose Bowl, Bristol County Ground and Lord’s will host group stage matches. The Oval will host both semi-finals, before the final at Lord’s.
What’s the tournament structure?
The tournament will follow the same format as the previous edition with the top two teams from each group progressing to the semi-finals.
Teams receive two points for a win and one point for a no result. In the event of a tie, a Super Over will decide the winner.
2026 women’s T20 World Cup groups
Group A: Australia, Bangladesh, India, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa
Group B: England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Sri Lanka, West Indies
See the full tournament schedule here
So, what’s Australia’s schedule?
June 13: v South Africa, Old Trafford, Manchester, 11:30pm AEST
June 17: v Bangladesh, Headingley, Leeds, 7:30pm AEST
June 20: v Netherlands, Rose Bowl, Hampshire, 7:30pm AEST
June 24: v Pakistan, Headingley, Leeds, 3:30am AEST
June 28: v India, Lord’s, London, 11:30pm AEST
Click here for the full tournament schedule
Who’s in the Aussie squad?
Squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham. Travelling reserve: Tahlia Wilson
Rising star Lucy Hamilton has squeezed out Darcie Brown for a spot in Australia’s squad after impressing across all three international formats since her debut earlier this year. Hamilton made her T20I debut against West Indies in March, taking 1-11, and national selector Shawn Flegler said the 20-year-old offered a point of difference as a left-arm fast bowler.
Powerful batter Grace Harris, who also offers a bowling option with her off-spin, has made her return to the international fold after being left out of the T20I squad that travelled to the Caribbean in March, while Annabel Sutherland is also back having been rested for that tour.
Hamilton is one of seven pace options for the six-time champions, alongside spearheads Megan Schutt and Kim Garth, and allrounders Sutherland, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry and Nicola Carey.
There’s also plenty of spin options for captain Sophie Molineux, including herself, vice-captain Ashleigh Gardner and leggies Georgia Wareham and Alana King, the latter retaining her spot following a standout tour of the Caribbean where she claimed five wickets in her first T20 internationals in almost a year. Beth Mooney is the only wicketkeeper in the 15-player squad with Tahlia Wilson named as travelling reserve.
New captain Molineux will lead Australia at her first ICC event following Alyssa Healy’s retirement last summer. Molineux secured her maiden series victory as skipper against West Indies in March after going down to India 2-1 at home in her first series at the helm. Flegler said Molineux was on track to return to bowling in the T20 World Cup after playing as a specialist batter in the Caribbean having hurt her back against India in February.
Get the latest here
The cricket.com.au website and CA Live app is the place to go for live scores and the latest news throughout the tournament. We’ll also have extensive coverage each day with reports, videos, interviews and behind-the-scenes insights from our crew on the ground in the UK.
All the squads
Get the latest on how each of the 12 teams will line up at the 2026 T20 World Cup here:
What’s the winner get?
The ICC announced a record prize fund of US$8,764,615 (approx AUD$12.25m), marking a 10 per cent increase on the 2024 edition.
That figure eclipses the US$7,958,077 pot shared between the 10 competing nations in the United Arab Emirates two years ago as the tournament expands to 12 teams for the first time.
The winners will once again take home US$2,340,000 – around AUD$3.3m – with the runners up receiving US$1,170,000. The losing semi-finalists will earn US$675,000, while every group match win will earn teams US$31,154. All 12 participating teams will earn an assured minimum prize pot of US$247,500.
Who is officiating?
The ICC has named an 18-strong all-female panel of match officials. Australian official Claire Polosak is the most experienced, making her sixth appearance at the tournament, while while Candace La Borde, Gayathri Venugopalan, Kerrin Klaaste and Shathira Jakir Jesy are all set to make their T20 World Cup debuts.
In total there will be 14 umpires and four match referees used across the 33 matches, with nine members of the 2024 edition returning.
Umpires: Lauren Agenbag, Kim Cotton, Anna Harris, Shathira Jakir Jesy, Kerrin Klaaste, Candace La Borde, Janani N, Nimali Perera, Claire Polosak, Vrinda Rathi, Suzanne Redfern, Eloise Sheridan, Jacquline Williams, Gayathri Venugopalan
Match Referees: Trudy Anderson, Shandré Fritz, GS Lakshmi, Michell Pereira
Who are the previous winners?
2009: England
2010: Australia
2012: Australia
2014: Australia
2016: West Indies
2018: Australia
2020: Australia
2023: Australia
2024: New Zealand
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026
Australia squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham. Travelling reserve: Tahlia Wilson
ICC World Cup warm-up matches
June 9: v England, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, 12am AEST
June 11: v West Indies, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, 12am AEST
Australia’s Group 1 fixtures
June 13: v South Africa, Old Trafford, Manchester, 11:30pm AEST
June 17: v Bangladesh, Headingley, Leeds, 7:30pm AEST
June 20: v Netherlands, Rose Bowl, Hampshire, 7:30pm AEST
June 24: v Pakistan, Headingley, Leeds, 3:30am AEST
June 28: v India, Lord’s, London, 11:30pm AEST
Semi-final 1: The Oval, London, June 30, 11:30pm AEST
Semi-final 2: The Oval, London, July 2 (3:30am July 3 AEST)
Final: Lord’s, London, July 5, 11:30pm AEST
Click here for the full tournament schedule
All matches will be broadcast on Amazon’s Prime Video
