ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2000
2000 · 8 teams · ODI cricket
Tournament Overview
Series Overview
The 2000 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, hosted by New Zealand, produced one of the most dramatic finishes in Women's World Cup history. At Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln on 23 December 2000, New Zealand batted first and posted 184 all out — a modest total that Australia would be expected to chase. For most of the innings, they did. Coming to the final over, Australia needed just 5 runs to win and retain the championship. Charmaine Mason faced the delivery that would decide everything and was caught behind — Australia ending on 180 all out. New Zealand had won by 4 runs on the very last ball. ESPNcricinfo would describe the final as 'the greatest World Cup final ever' — a verdict that speaks to the tension of those last moments at Lincoln. For New Zealand women's cricket, it was a historic breakthrough: their first Women's ODI World Cup title, and the first time since the Women's World Cup began in 1973 that neither Australia nor England had won it. New Zealand's triumph was celebrated across a country that had long harboured its women's team as genuine challengers. The 2000 Women's World Cup final remains one of the most extraordinary moments in the history of women's cricket — decided by 4 runs, on the last ball, at a small ground in Canterbury.
Key Highlights
- 1New Zealand won their first and only Women's ODI World Cup — a historic breakthrough decided on the final ball of a heart-stopping final
- 2Australia needed 5 runs from the final over; Charmaine Mason was caught behind to end the innings 4 runs short — New Zealand 184, Australia 180
- 3ESPNcricinfo described it as 'the greatest World Cup final ever' — a match decided on the very last delivery under intense pressure
- 4New Zealand broke the Australia-England duopoly on the Women's World Cup for the first time since the tournament's 1973 inception
- 5The final was played at Lincoln's Bert Sutcliffe Oval — a small ground hosting one of women's cricket's greatest moments