All you need to know about the Women's T20 World Cup
- Published
England is hosting the 2026 T20 Women's World Cup this summer, with 12 teams competing for the trophy.
The first edition of the tournament took part in 2009 and has since become a biennial fixture, other than a postponement from 2020 to 2023 because of the Covid pandemic.
New Zealand's White Ferns are reigning champions, winning their first title in the 2024 tournament.
Here is all you need to know about the 2026 tournament, which begins on Friday, 12 June.
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England will hope to capitalise on home advantage for this year's competition
Which countries are taking part?
This is the first year that 12 teams will feature in the tournament, with nine countries participating in the inaugural event in 2009, increasing to 10 from 2014.
That number will increase further to 16 teams from 2030.
Australia have the best record, having won it six times, with England, the West Indies and New Zealand each holding one title.
The teams in order of T20 International ranking are:
Australia - 1st
England - 2nd
India - 3rd
New Zealand - 4th
South Africa - 5th
West Indies - 6th
Sri Lanka - 7th
Pakistan - 8th
Ireland - 9th
Bangladesh - 10th
Scotland - 11th
Netherlands - 14th
England qualified automatically as tournament hosts.
The next spots were given to the five highest-finishing teams from the 2024 World Cup, which were New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, India and the West Indies.
Sri Lanka and Pakistan qualified through the ICC Women's T20I team rankings in 2024.
Bangladesh, Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland secured the final four spots at the 2026 T20 World Cup qualifier in January and February.
What is the format?
The 12 teams have been split into two groups of six, with everyone playing each other once.
The top two teams from each group progress to the semi-finals, with the final being held at Lord's in London on 5 July.
Group 1
Australia
Bangladesh
India
Netherlands
Pakistan
South Africa
Group 2
England
Ireland
New Zealand
Scotland
Sri Lanka
West Indies
What are the venues?
Seven grounds around England have been selected for the matches.
Lord's, London - 31,100 capacity
The Oval, London - 27,500 capacity
Old Trafford, Manchester - 26,000 capacity
Edgbaston, Birmingham - 25,000 capacity
Hampshire Bowl, Southampton - 25,000 capacity
Headingley, Leeds - 18,350 capacity
Bristol County Ground, Bristol - 17,500 capacity
What is the schedule?
There will be a total of 31 fixtures:
Friday, 12 June
England v Sri Lanka
Saturday, 13 June
Scotland v Ireland
Australia v South Africa
West Indies v New Zealand
Sunday, 14 June
Bangladesh v Netherlands
India v Pakistan
Tuesday, 16 June
New Zealand v Sri Lanka
England v Ireland
Wednesday, 17 June
Australia v Bangladesh
India v Netherlands
South Africa v Pakistan
Thursday, 18 June
West Indies v Scotland
Friday, 19 June
New Zealand v Ireland
Saturday, 20 June
Australia v Netherlands
Pakistan v Bangladesh
England v Scotland
Sunday, 21 June
West Indies v Sri Lanka
South Africa v India
Tuesday, 23 June
New Zealand v Scotland
Sri Lanka v Ireland
Australia v Pakistan
Wednesday, 24 June
England v West Indies
Thursday, 25 June
India v Bangladesh
South Africa v Netherlands
Friday, 26 June
Sri Lanka v Scotland
Saturday, 27 June
Pakistan v Netherlands
West Indies v Ireland
England v New Zealand
Sunday, 28 June
South Africa v Bangladesh
Australia v India
Tuesday, 30 June
Semi-final
Thursday, 2 July
Semi-final
Sunday, 5 July
Final
What is the prize money?
The prize pot for 2026 is $8.8m (£6.6m), a 10% increase on the 2024 tournament.
Minimum earnings for each country are set to be at a record level, with the minimum participation fee for all teams more than double what it was in 2024.
The flat fees for the winners, runners-up, losing semi-finalists and for each group-stage win will remain the same as 2024.
The 2024 edition's prize fund more than tripled from £1.84 million ($2.45 million) in 2023 to £5.92m ($7.96m), after the ICC decided to award equal prize money for the men's and women's tournaments.
How can I follow the Women's T20 World Cup on the BBC?
Every match will be broadcast live on BBC Test Match Special on BBC Sounds, BBC Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website and app.
There will also be live text commentaries with in-play clips, reports, highlights and features on the BBC Sport website and app.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
