Women's Cricket: Structure, Growth, and the ICC's Equality Drive
The ICC structure for women's cricket — the Women's Test series, Women's ODI Championship, and ICC Women's T20 World Cup — how the women's game has grown since the 2017 World Cup final at Lord's, the pay gap between men's and women's contracts in major boards, how the WBBL and The Hundred's double-header model have increased audiences, and which countries dominate women's cricket.
ICC Women's Cricket Structure
Women's cricket operates under the ICC's full-member structure — the same 12 full members as men's cricket (plus several associate members) play across Test, ODI, and T20I formats with ICC World Cup events in each format. The ICC Women's Championship is the qualification pathway for the Women's 50-over World Cup: member boards play bilateral ODI series against each other over a 4-year cycle, accumulating points, with the top teams automatically qualifying for the World Cup and others entering qualifying tournaments. The Women's T20 World Cup has expanded significantly — the 2024 edition featured 10 teams, with discussions about expansion to 16 teams following the growth in associate member participation.
Women's Test cricket is the least frequent format — the longer format is typically only arranged for high-profile bilateral series, often as part of multi-format series (one Test, three ODIs, three T20Is) rather than as standalone series. Full 5-day Tests for women are rare; some women's Tests have been played over 4 days. The ICC has pushed for more Test cricket for women to develop the format — England versus Australia women's Ashes is the most regular women's Test series.
Growth Since 2017
The 2017 ICC Women's World Cup final at Lord's — India versus England, attended by a sold-out 25,000-capacity crowd and broadcast across multiple major channels — is widely cited as the turning point for women's cricket's mainstream visibility. India's growth in women's cricket from that tournament (they lost the final but the match generated enormous viewership in India, where women's cricket had previously had very limited broadcast coverage) is credited with triggering BCCI investments in women's domestic cricket infrastructure, leading eventually to the Women's Premier League (WPL) launched in 2023.
Dominant Nations
Australia is the most dominant force in women's cricket by virtually any measure — they won 7 consecutive ICC Women's T20 World Cups until England's 2009 title broke the streak, and have since won multiple World Cups in all formats. Australia's dominance stems from a deeply professionalised domestic structure (WBBL, state teams) producing exceptional player depth; central contracts for the full national squad; and a culture of cricket that includes women's cricket as a genuine professional career. England and India have emerged as the primary challengers across formats; New Zealand and South Africa have produced competitive sides in the T20 format particularly.
Frequently asked questions
Do women's and men's cricket follow the same rules?
Largely yes — the Laws of Cricket apply to women's cricket with minor adaptations (the weight and circumference of the cricket ball used in women's cricket is slightly smaller and lighter than the men's ball, to account for average hand size differences). Field dimensions, dismiss types, DRS, powerplay rules, and match structures are identical between men's and women's cricket at the same format level. Women's Tests are typically played over 4 days rather than 5, though 5-day women's Tests have been played. In T20 and ODI formats, the rules are identical between men's and women's international cricket.
What is the Women's Premier League (WPL)?
The Women's Premier League is India's women's T20 franchise competition, launched in 2023 by the BCCI. Modelled on the IPL, it features 5 franchises (owned by the same groups as several IPL teams) that competed in a round-robin followed by playoffs format. International players participate alongside Indian women's cricketers. The WPL was commercially significant because the BCCI sold the 5 franchises and the broadcast rights for substantial sums — signalling that private investors viewed women's cricket as commercially viable in India. The inaugural season's auction saw several players earn higher fees than they had ever received for their entire previous international careers.
Which women's cricketers are considered the greatest of all time?
Historically: Enid Bakewell (England, retired 1979), Jan Brittin (England), and Belinda Clark (Australia, the first women's cricketer to score a World Cup century) are considered foundational. In the modern era: Mithali Raj (India, retired 2022) is the all-time leading run-scorer in women's international cricket. Ellyse Perry (Australia) is widely considered the greatest modern-era women's cricketer — she is both an elite batter and elite pace bowler, having won ODI and T20I World Cups. Beth Mooney (Australia), Smriti Mandhana (India), and Meg Lanning (Australia) are considered the elite top-order batters of the current generation. Ellyse Perry's dual excellence is often compared to Ben Stokes's in men's cricket — a match-winning all-rounder in both formats.