A warm up to the VIIth Women's World Cup in New Zealand

The good news for women cricketers and supporters of women's cricket or rather 'cricket played by women' is that Cricinfo, the popular digital cricket information company providing ball by ball coverage of their favourite game to home-sick NRI's all over the world is sponsoring the next edition of the Women's World Cup to be played in New Zealand at the end of the year 2000. The commitment has come well in time to enable the host to make precise and flawless preparations for this mega event in the annals of women's sports.

This edition is open to eight countries, Australia, the reigning champions, New Zealand, finalists in the VIth World Cup, England, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Ireland and the Netherlands. The last edition in India in 1996 had in addition to the eight above, teams from Pakistan, Denmark and the West Indies, a total of eleven teams, the twelth entrant did not participate. At the meeting of the International Women's Cricket council at Calcutta on December 28, 1996, IWCC President Mrs. Mary Brito announced that only the eight quarterfinalists of the VIth World Cup would be eligible to compete in the next quadrennial competion. There would be only one pool and each would play the other once.

New Zealand might also host a seven nation tournament for the lesser countries before the World Cup to give these countries more international exposure.

The eighth World Cup is to be staged in the year 2004 in South Africa and the line up will consist of the first six teams from the VIIth edition and two qualifiers from a tournament to be conducted on World Cup lines for the IWCC affiliated lesser countries and the two countries placed 7th and 8th in New Zealand.

The first Women's World Cup was held in the cradle of cricket, on the emerald green English turf, a good two years before the first Prudential Cup, an achievement which the male chauvinist surfing this site may please note.

It was the brainchild of Jack Hawkins, a cricket crazy English multi millionaire resident in the sunny Bahamas, and was totally supported by him. The contending teams were England, Australia, New Zealand Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, an International XI and Young England (under 25).

The competition was played in a round robin format, each team playing the other once and the top two teams in the points table meeting each other in the final. The one day games were of 60 overs a side duration. England topped the table and Australia finished second.

In the final, played at Edgbaston, England beat Australia by 92 runs. England scored 279/3 (Bakewell 118, Heyhoe-Flint 64, Thomas 40) while Australia replied with 187/9 (Potter 57, Wilson 41, Bray 40)

The event was dreamt up over post dinner drinks at Sir Jack Hayward's English residence in 1971 with England Captain Rachel Heyhoe Flint, a weekend guest. It cost 40,000 pounds and was a success owing to the organisational skill of Sylvia Swinburne, Chairperson of the Women's Cricket Association, ably aided by Norma Whitehorne and Anne Saunders Their efforts were amply rewarded when Princess Anne presented the winner's trophy to the home captain Rachel Heyhoe Flint.

P W L NR Points England 6 5 1 0 20 Australia 6 4 1 1 17 International XI 6 3 2 1 13 New Zealand 6 3 2 1 13 Trinidad & Tobago 6 2 4 0 8 Jamaica 6 1 4 1 5 Young England 6 2 5 0 4

Trivia: Six South African cricketers who were to play for the International XI were not permitted to take the field due to the policy of apartheid.

India could not play due to late entry -the Women's Cricket Association of India was only a few months old.

Rachel Heyhoe Flint, then captaining England, became the first women to seek MCC membership.