Who will win the Women’s World Cup? Which players will star? Watch all the games live on Sky Sports; the tournament kicks off with host New Zealand taking on the West Indies from 12:30am on Friday; England begin their title defense against Australia at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday
England player Sophie Ecclestone could be crucial if Heather Knight’s side want to retain the Women’s World Cup
July 23, 2017: It was a day the women of England will never forget.
Anya Shrubsole’s bowling figures of 6-46, which included five wickets on 19 balls during a dramatic finish, inspired her team to a World Cup victory over India in a packed and enthralled Lord’s.
Fast-forward five years, the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed the final tournament back from 2021 to 2022, with England now looking to defend the title in New Zealand.
Ahead of the competition, which kicks off in the early hours of Friday morning with the hosts against the West Indies, we asked Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain and Lydia Greenway for their predictions.
Will England retain their title? Who are the other contenders? Who are the players to watch out for? Read on for our experts’ thoughts…
NASSER HUSSAIN: I think they should make it to the final, along with Australia who are by far the best team in women’s cricket at the moment. But with people like New Zealand and South Africa, it won’t be easy. Other teams have improved, including India, which reached the 50+ World Cup final in 2017 and the 20+ World Cup final in 2020.
England haven’t had a great time of late, losing the recent Ashes series 12-4, but they’ve had their break and got it out of their system. I think this tournament is exactly what they need to pick them up.
Racing is key for England. They didn’t get enough in the Ashes. The starting pair of Lauren Winfield-Hill and Tammy Beaumont really have to shoot, as they did at the last World Cup. If Heather Knight and Nat Sciver do the same in the middle order, that will go a long way to winning this World Cup.
LYDIA GREENWAY: Because England are the defending champions, they will relish their chances and should definitely make it to the semi-finals, hands down. Once you get there, anything can happen. I’d love to say they’ll win it, but a lot of things are out of your control in the semis.
One concern is that they’ve been traveling for a while and Knight spoke about a bit of fatigue within the group at the back of Women’s Ashes. I hope you have had a period where you have really been able to recharge your batteries.
Batsmen also struggled at times during the Ashes, but I like the variety in the seam bowling attack with Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt moving the ball in different ways, Kate Cross with that seam bite and then the arm option left Tash. Farrant, which has bright variations and brings a different angle. Bowling is a real fortress.
LIDIA: I think so, it would be massive. They’ve got the tag of defending champions and people are asking, ‘can you do it again?’ The best teams in the world back those kinds of performances and England need to find an ugly way to win. As much as you want every game to be perfect, it’s not always going to be that way.
It’s more of a challenge being away from home too. You can’t beat playing in front of a home crowd and it really excites you. However, conditions in New Zealand are similar to England, so it’s a boost.
NASER: It is key for new bowlers to stay fit. It would be a huge blow if they lost Shrubsole or Brunt to injury, especially with the cross breezes here in New Zealand. They are two authentic swing players who complement each other perfectly. Shrubsole throws the ball to righties and Brunt walks away. Hopefully they can get early land.
Brunt will also be key with his passion and experience. Then you have left arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone, who is very consistent. Even if she doesn’t get a lot of wickets, she never goes around the park. She is a vital gear.
As a captain, Knight is very calm under pressure. His hitting has also gone from strength to strength and I think that’s the facet that will be the most important. That said, his experience will be crucial at key moments.
LIDIA: with the bat, Tammy Beaumont, Nat Sciver and gentleman they all need to have good tournaments for England to do well.
Effort he has that all-round ability, but I think he’s the guy on the ball, whether Heather wants something early on if there’s movement in the air or later if there’s a big partnership forming.
Then, in death, its variations are fantastic. He has been so impressive with the way he has developed his game when players in similar positions around the world have stagnated.
NASER: Half of the squad from the last World Cup isn’t here, so it’s all about how some of the younger players deal with the big chance of defending the title.
The batting lineup didn’t quite click in Australia, England didn’t quite click. They made mostly sub-par totals and didn’t put enough pressure on Australia most of the time.
With Brunt, Shrubsole and Ecclestone in the bowling attack, England will think they can defend any total, but they need runs on the board.
With Winfield-Hill, he gets a lot of twenties, thirties and forties, but now you want him to go on and kick and score big runs. Against the best teams, those starts need to be converted.
