After Australia secured their seventh women’s T20 World Cup crown with a crushing win over hosts England at Lord’s, we’ve put our selectors’ hats on to pick our best XI from the tournament.
The Aussies’ undefeated campaign saw five players earn selection, with England and beaten semi-finalists South Africa both represented by two players, and India and Pakistan one each. Check out the full team below.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge (England)
Matches: 7 | Runs: 302 | 100s: 1 | 50s: 2 | SR: 149.5 | HS: 105no
England opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge set a new benchmark for runs scored in a single T20 World Cup with her 302 beating Beth Mooney’s 259 from the tournament Australia hosted in 2020. She started the tournament in style by blazing an unbeaten century against Sri Lanka while also passing 50 against West Indies and New Zealand but would be disappointed with her returns in the knockout stage, making just 12 and 8 in the semi-final and final respectively.
Beth Mooney (Australia) (wk)
M: 7 | Runs: 238 | 50s: 3 | SR: 142.51 | HS: 74no | Dismissals: 5
Mooney punished the plucky Netherlands with an unbeaten 74 but it was otherwise a quiet group stage for Australia’s veteran keeper-batter. But she showed her mettle and penchant for producing in the biggest games with an unbeaten 61 in the semi-final then 64 in the final to break the back of what was a record run-chase. Again showed her grit and determination by battling through after dislocating the same finger twice in the match against Pakistan, claimed five catches in her first full tournament as the team’s wicketkeeper and was ultimately named player of the tournament – the first woman to win that award twice.
Nat Sciver-Brunt (England)
M: 4 | Runs: 227 | 50s: 2 | SR: 142.76 | HS: 75
England’s captain had a tournament interrupted by injury, forced to retire hurt on 48 against Ireland and subsequently missing the rest of the group stage, but was otherwise incredibly consistent with the bat, and didn’t score less than the 46 not out she made in the opening match against Sri Lanka. It will mean little to her, but Sciver-Brunt can hold her head high with an unbeaten 58 in the final against the Aussies – albeit with a strike-rate of just 109.43 – against a ruthless Aussie bowling attack.
Ellyse Perry (Australia)
M: 7 | Runs: 198 | 50s: 2 | SR: 132.88 | HS: 71 | Wkts: 4 | Econ: 6 | BB: 2-9
Perry now has seven T20 World Cup titles to her name, and this was arguably her finest tournament yet, as she took her batting to another level to help Australia go through the tournament undefeated. Before this year’s edition, Perry had never scored a half-century at a T20 World Cup – but now has two courtesy of consecutive scores of 71 and 56 against Pakistan and India respectively. It was the 35-year-old’s most productive campaign of her nine T20 World Cup appearances, finishing second behind Beth Mooney (238) on Australia’s runs tally.
Perry was unbeaten in three of her seven innings in this tournament and was there at the end when the winning runs were scored to beat England in the final. Perry’s resurgence as a T20 force after being left out of the XI that won Commonwealth Games gold in 2022 was evident in her tournament strike rate, which was significantly higher than her career mark of 118. The champion allrounder was only called on with the ball in three matches, but made it count with a pair of two-fors against Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Ashleigh Gardner (Australia)
M: 6 | Runs: 150 | 50s: 2 | SR: 170.45 | HS: 58 | Wkts: 3 | Econ: 7.56 | BB: 2-13
Gardner was at her destructive best this T20 World Cup with dominant half-centuries against Netherlands and India – the latter 53no to knock the 2025 ODI world champions out of the tournament. The allrounder also produced an important 35no in the semi-final to see Australia home over West Indies and, like Perry, was unbeaten at the end in the final when the winning runs were scored – her third unbeaten knock in three innings to finish the tournament. While the off-spinner lacked her usual impact with the ball, and missed a match with a sprained ankle, she saved her best for the knockout phase with her best return (2-13) coming in that semi-final win.
Marizanne Kapp (South Africa)
M: 6 | Runs: 124 | 50s: 1 | SR: 142.52 | HS: 81no | Wkts: 8 | Econ: 5 | BB: 3-23
Another exceptional tournament for arguably South Africa’s greatest ever female cricketer as she led their bowling alongside Shabnim Ismail (eight wickets) and was also their fastest scoring batter across their six World Cup matches. Almost two-thirds of Kapp’s runs for the campaign came in her match-winning 45-ball 81 not out against India at Old Trafford where she also took 2-27 to put the Proteas on course for the knockout stage. The veteran allrounder only went wicketless once for the tournament and was one of their best in their semi-final loss to England with a miserly 1-16 from four overs.
Georgia Wareham (Australia)
M: 7 | Runs: 82 | SR: 182.22 | HS: 41 | Wkts: 7 | Econ: 4.5 | BB: 3-13
Something of a revelation in the middle order for Australia on their undefeated run to the title, Wareham was the fastest scoring batter for the tournament. Her strike rate was significantly higher than the next best, India’s Deepti Sharma on 171.42. The leg-spinner’s batting was complemented by her wicket-taking ability, with only captain Sophie Molineux (11) claiming more for Australia in the tournament.
Wareham’s first-up double of 32 (off 22 balls) and 3-13 in the opening win over the Proteas was her best performance of the World Cup, while she also claimed a vital 2-17 in the semi-final against West Indies, which included the crucial scalp of danger woman Hayley Matthews on 30. Wareham’s top score of 41 came from a rapid 18 balls against Netherlands.
Fatima Sana (Pakistan)
M: 5 | Runs: 85 | 50s: 1 | SR: 110.38 | HS: 55no | Wkts: 11 | Econ: 6.95 | BB: 3-12
The Pakistan captain had a great all-round World Cup, highlighted by strong performances against each of their higher-ranked opponents – India, South Africa and Australia. The right-arm pacer finished equal second on the wickets tally behind India’s Sree Charani (14) and was her team’s third highest run-scorer, posting an unbeaten 55 as well as taking 3-16 against South Africa. Fatima also finished the tournament with three wickets against Netherlands, with two-wicket hauls against India and Bangladesh as well. Unfortunately, there was little support from her teammates as Pakistan were knocked out with just one win – a 37-run triumph over the Dutch in their final group match.
Sophie Molineux (Australia) (c)
M: 7 | Wkts: 11 | Econ: 6.75 | Ave: 14.72 | BB: 2-6
It doesn’t get much better for Molineux than leading her team to glory in her first global tournament as captain. Individually, her performances were also exceptional as she finished equal second on the wickets tally behind India’s Sree Charani (14). Molineux only went wicketless once in Australia’s seven World Cup matches – against the Netherlands, with her best return her 2-6 from two overs in the team’s following game against Pakistan.
But the left-armer’s most valuable contributions – outside of her captaincy that saw Australia go through undefeated – came at the business end of the tournament with 2-30 in the semi-final win over West Indies followed by the crucial breakthrough of Alice Capsey for 23 in the final to halt England’s momentum. Such was Australia’s dominance on their way to a seventh women’s T20 world title that Molineux was only required to bat twice during the tournament.
Sree Charani (India)
M: 5 | Wkts: 14 | Econ: 5.85 | Ave: 8.35 | BB: 4-19
The 21-year-old’s maiden T20 World Cup was one to savour on an individual level, finishing three clear of fellow left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux and Pakistan’s Fatima Sana (both 11) as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker. Charani took multiple wickets in all five of India’s matches, which included a barnstorming start to the tournament with hauls of 3-21, 4-19 and 3-24 against Pakistan, Netherlands and South Africa respectively.
Shabnim Ismail (South Africa)
M: 6 | Wkts: 8 | Econ: 6.95 | Ave: 19.12 | BB: 2-28
Ismail came out of international retirement to play in the World Cup and South Africa would have been pleased she did as she led their wickets tally for the tournament alongside Marizanne Kapp. The right-arm speedster took at least a wicket in every match, with her best performance (2-28) coming in their crucial win over India that put the Proteas on course for the semi-finals after an early loss to Australia. Ismail also took two wickets in their semi-final defeat to England.
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
Australia’s fixtures
June 13: beat South Africa by 65 runs
June 17: beat Bangladesh by nine wickets
June 20: beat Netherlands by 98 runs
June 24: beat Pakistan by 113 runs
June 28: beat India by six wickets
Semi-final 1: Australia beat West Indies by eight wickets
(Semi-final 2: England beat South Africa by 40 runs)
Final: Australia beat England by seven wickets
Click here for the full tournament schedule
All matches available to replay on Amazon’s Prime Video
