20 weeks till the women’s T20 World Cup. A powerplay of thoughts:
An overkilled men’s scheduled + home World Cup X The Hundred = The summer of women’s cricket? Football came home, Rugby came home, can Cricket? 6 thoughts to ponder:
It’s 20 weeks until England take on Sri Lanka in the first match of this year’s Women’s World T20. So, I thought it was only fitting to share six thoughts in homage to the six overs of chaos at the start of each innings.
1) Football came home, Rugby came home, can cricket?
The Lionesses won the Euros on home soil before going back-to-back last summer, while also being agonisingly close to World Cup glory in between. The Red Roses triumphed at the Allianz Stadium (Twickenham) last year, with Ellie Kildunne, Jess Breach, and the ‘Sheriff’, Meg Jones, inspiring a new generation of fans.
(Red Roses celebrate beating Canada)
So, no pressure…
The difference is that the Red Roses and the Lionesses went into those tournaments as favourites. The Lionesses entered the tournament on a 14-game unbeaten run, while the Red Roses began their campaign on the back of a 27-game winning streak.
Our T20 side has had mixed results over the last couple of years. In 2024, we entered the World Cup as favourites but went out in the group stages. 2025 started with a 3-0 whitewash away in Australia, before we bounced back to beat the West Indies at home by the same scoreline and rounded off the summer by squeezing past India 3-2.
England will have to overcome the powerhouse that is India and the Australian juggernaut, a side not used to having at least one ICC world trophy missing from its cabinet. On form, it looks tough, but there is nothing like home-nation support at a tournament.
2) Who will be the face of the World Cup?
Leah Williamson, Jill Scott, Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo, Ella Toone, Lucy Bronze, and Lauren James are just a few of the Lionesses who are now household names in pop culture.
When looking at the England Women’s cricket team, it is harder to identify who will be the face of this home World Cup. The captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and spinner, Sophie Ecclestone, are undoubtedly two of the best players in the world, but if you weren’t a cricket fan, would you recognise them on a billboard? There is no reason why their performances at this tournament couldn’t captivate audiences and elevate their profiles.
Lauren Bell has a massive Instagram following of nearly two million. She is active on social media, regularly showcasing her life away from cricket on both Instagram and TikTok. If she has a good tournament, coming off the back of playing in the WPL for RCB, and then continues her form into The Hundred, this could be the summer that elevates her to the same level as the Lionesses.
(Sciver-Brunt, Ecclestone and Bell pictured for their Hundred franchises)
Perhaps it is a tournament too soon, but two to keep an eye on would be young guns Tilly Corteen-Coleman, who recently signed for MI London, and Davina Perrin, who lit up The Hundred last year by scoring a 42-ball ton in the eliminator to take her team to the final. Don’t be surprised if these two are the poster girls for future tournaments…
Speaking of future tournaments, it would be worth keeping an eye on two explosive top-order batters this summer: Yorkshire’s Amelia Oliver and Bryony Gillgrass of the Bears (currently on loan to Worcestershire). These two could well be in the side for the 2034 tournament.
3) Why we should want USA to qualify?
Two letters, four numbers: LA 2028.
If America can qualify for the tournament this year, it would be a great way to build excitement for the Olympic Games in 2028.
America becoming a regular at world events would be a brilliant way to not only bring a new audience to the sport but also ensure that the international landscape does not mirror the men’s game, where the BCCI, ECB, and CA hold all the power.
4) An overkilled men’s scheduled + home World Cup X The Hundred = The summer of women’s cricket?
I believe burnout and an overcrowded schedule for the men’s team will allow the women to take centre stage unchallenged this summer.
A tough winter in New Zealand moved into a dire Ashes, which then goes into a T20 World Cup, leading into an IPL, which finally brings us to the start of the English summer and a white-ball series against India. The men’s schedule has put Test matches on the back burner this summer. New Zealand and Pakistan are crammed in just before the start of The Hundred and as soon as it finishes.
It is an awful lot of cricket. There will be burnout and transitional squads, you just don’t expect the stars to play every game.
2026 has been a tough watch for England fans, and I don’t think there is light at the end of the tunnel just yet and you can blame the schedule!
It makes you question: would I rather watch a half-strength team in a meaningless series against India, or would I rather watch our girls try to bring home a World Cup on home soil? I might be biased, but it’s not a hard choice.
(Joe Root and England had a far from ideal Ashes)
With big-money private investment into The Hundred franchises, it is highly likely that we will see the best English players manage their schedules so they are fit and firing in time for the tournament. With this potentially being the only time in the summer that all the best players are available, more eyes will be drawn to The Hundred as a whole product, which means more eyes on the women’s games.
If you add England going deep in (and ideally winning) the World T20, it could create a wave of momentum that The Hundred carries forward. Players are recognised from their success playing for England, momentum and intrigue is built. Culminating into a summer we can look back on as the moment women’s cricket truly went mainstream.
(The Northern Superchargers last years champions have been rebranded as Sunrisers Leeds)
5) Sponsorship and commercial deal:
Unilever becoming the first-ever dedicated global partner for ICC women’s cricket events is pretty epic.
Rexona (Sure), and Dove are the primary Unilever brands for the tournament. The partnership is focused on the “Breaking Barriers” initiative, aiming to provide hygiene education and build confidence for young girls in sport through digital content and “crIIio” festivals at match venues.
Other tournament sponsors include Hyundai, Emirates, Aramco, Coca-Cola, AB InBev (Budweiser 0.0), Google, Sobha Realty, and Marriott Bonvoy. It will be interesting to see what partnership activations these brands look to do and which athletes they choose to use.
English cricket certainly has a long way to go to match the commercial deals being done in other women’s sports. My hope is that this is a breakout summer; we say bring on a Danni Wyatt-Hodge Dove advert or Sophie Dunkley as the face of M&S’s summer range.
6) Memories of 2017:
I know 2017 was a 50-over World Cup, but it was the last time we hosted an ICC Women’s event. If you haven’t watched the highlights, go and do it! You won’t regret it.
Lord’s sold out for the first time ever for a women’s match. England scrapped to make 228. With India needing 38 off 44 balls to win with seven wickets in hand, the game looked done. Enter Anya Shrubsole…
42.4 Overs: Shrubsole traps Raut LBW for 86. India are 191/4.
48.4 Overs: Shrubsole charges in and clean-bowls Rajeshwari Gayakwad to take her 6th wicket and 5th of the spell.
India were all out for 219. Shrubsole finished with 6/46. England won by 9 runs.
If this year’s final can have half as much drama, we are in for a treat.
(Anya Shrubsole takes the wicket to win the World Cup )