Ultimate guide to the 2025 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup

23 Sep 2025 cricket.com.au

Get all the key team, venue and broadcast details ahead of the Women's ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka

When does it start?

The tournament begins on Tuesday, September 30 when hosts India and Sri Lanka face off at Guwahati's ACA Stadium at 3pm local time (7.30pm AEST).

Alyssa Healy's team will then begin their quest for back-to-back titles a day later on October 1 when they meet New Zealand at Indore's Holkar Stadium (7.30pm AEST).

The tournament was originally due to start in Bengaluru, but the city lost hosting rights last month after it was unable to secure a permit to host matches, with the schedule changed and Navi Mumbai added as a replacement host city.

The 2025 Cricket World Cup will be contested by eight nations, with the top five finishers from the ICC Women's ODI Championship – Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka – alongside hosts India the automatic qualifiers.

Bangladesh and Pakistan secured their spots at the qualifying event held earlier in the year.

A surprising absence from the tournament is 2022 semi-finalists West Indies, who failed to qualify this time around.

Check out the full fixture here.

How can I watch the tournament?

Cricket fans in Australia will be able to watch the upcoming ICC Women's ODI World Cup for free, with broadcaster Prime Video putting the tournament in front of its paywall.

All 31 matches of the eight-team event in India and Sri Lanka to be available live, exclusive and free via Prime Video, and viewers will only be required to sign into a free Amazon account.

Women's World Cup to be streamed free on Prime Video

Australia will be aiming to win an unprecedented seventh 50-over World Cup title, and become the first women's team to claim consecutive titles since 1988.

Click here to watch the tournament on Prime Video

How's the time difference?

Every match will begin in prime time for Australian viewers, at 7.30pm AEST for those on the Eastern seaboard, 7pm for South Australia and the Northern Territory and 5.30pm for Western Australia.

Australia play two games before daylight savings kicks in on October 5 for those in Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and South Australia; following that, matches for those time zones will begin at 8.30pm AEDT and 8pm ACDT.

Keen fans eager to tune in for all 100 overs will need to stock up on their caffeine – and potentially ask their bosses for a late start – with games scheduled to end in the wee hours of the morning.

For those who treasure their sleep routines, there will be a choice of 10- or 25-minute highlights packages from each match on Prime Video, exclusive and free, or viewers can tune into a full match replay from the first ball that will be available immediately after the match has finished.

Those who join the live broadcast late will be able to use the 'Rapid Recap' feature to watch a highlights reel of the game's best moments so far before joining the live action.

Where do I get live scores, news and highlights?

The cricket.com.au website and CA Live app is the place to go for live scores and the latest news throughout the tournament. We'll also have extensive coverage each day with reports, video recaps, interviews and behind-the-scenes insights from our crew on the ground in India and Sri Lanka. Our reporter Laura Jolly is following the Aussie team throughout the World Cup to bring fans closer to the action.

What's the tournament format?

Every team will play the other once during the round robin phase of the tournament. The top four teams will then progress to the semi-finals on October 29 and 30 ahead of the final on November 2.

Semi-final 1: Guwahati or Colombo*, October 29, 8:30pm AEDT

Semi-final 2: Mumbai, October 30, 8:30pm AEDT

Final: Mumbai or Colombo*, November 2, 8:30pm AEDT

ICC ODI rankings

1) Australia, 2) England, 3) India, 4) New Zealand, 5) South Africa, 6) Sri Lanka, 7) Bangladesh, 8) Pakistan

Australia team news

Calf blow rules Harris out of World Cup

Australia were dealt a blow this week with X-factor allrounder Grace Harris ruled out of the tournament after suffering a calf strain in the third ODI against India on Sunday. The Queenslander is set to be replaced by WA allrounder Heather Graham.

Sophie Molineux meanwhile is poised to make her international return after being included in Australia's squad for their World Cup defence.

Molineux, who has not played since undergoing knee surgery in January, is part of the 15-player squad named by Cricket Australia alongside Darcie Brown (quad) and Georgia Wareham (groin) who have brushed off recent niggles to take their places in the squad.

Five players have been included in a 50-over World Cup squad for the first time, with Molineux and Wareham joined by Kim Garth, Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Voll.

Every squad for the 2025 women's ODI World Cup

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

What are the host venues?

DY Patil Stadium (Mumbai), ACA Stadium (Guwahati), Holkar Stadium (Indore), ACA-VDCA Stadium (Visakhapatnam) and R. Premadasa Stadium (Colombo, Sri Lanka).

Pakistan will play their matches on neutral territory in Colombo, including their game against India.

ICC confirms new venue for Women's ODI World Cup finals

Should Fatima Sana’s team qualify for the knockouts, the semi-final or final would also be played in Sri Lanka. Pakistan are currently ranked No.8 on the ICC’s ODI team charts and have never advanced to the finals of a women’s World Cup.

DY Patil is familiar territory for players who have been part of the Women’s Premier League, while Australia have played T20s at the Navi Mumbai ground during tours in 2022 and 2024. It also hosted a Test between England and India in late 2023.

Across the board, however, the venues have hosted little, if any, women's international cricket.

R Premadasa Stadium hosted its first women’s internationals since 2016 in March, an ODI tri-series between Sri Lanka, India and South Africa.

Visakhapatnam last hosted women’s internationals in 2014, while India and England played two T20Is at Guwahati’s ACA Stadium in 2019 and Holkar Stadium has never hosted a women’s international.

Ok, so lay out all the Aussie matches for me

October 1: v New Zealand, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 7:30pm AEST

October 4: v Sri Lanka, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7:30pm AEST

October 8: v Pakistan, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 8:30pm AEDT

October 12: v India, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT

October 16: v Bangladesh, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT

October 22: v England, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT

October 25: v South Africa, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT

For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches live and exclusive on Prime Video.

How do I buy tickets?

Tickets to all group stage fixtures in India and Sri Lanka are now available, visit the official tournament website for more details.

What does the winner get?

Australia could claim a major windfall if they manage to defend their title, after the ICC quadrupled the event's prize pool compared to the 2022 tournament.

The ICC announced last month the overall pot would be increased to US$13.88 million (A$21 million) for the eight-team event in India and Sri Lanka, far eclipsing the US$3.5m (A$5.3m) on offer when Australia lifted the trophy in New Zealand in 2022.

Women's World Cup prize money quadrupled to $21m

It is also an increase on the most recent men's 50-over World Cup, which had a prize pool of $US10m ($A15m).

The winners of the tournament final in Mumbai on November 2 will receive US$4.48m (A$6.9m), more than double the US$1.32m (A$1.5m) Meg Lanning's Australians took home in 2022.

The runners-up will walk away with US$2.4m (A$3.4m), while the losing semi-finalists take home US$1.12m (A$1.7m) each.

Each group stage participant is guaranteed to earn US$250k (A$382k) while each group-stage win will get the victors US$34,314 (A$52,494).

The teams finishing fifth and sixth will take home US$700k (A$1.07m) each and those in seventh and eighth place will earn US$280k (A$428k).

Who is officiating?

The tournament will feature an all-female panel of match officials, in line with recent events including the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the two most recent ICC Women's T20 World Cups.

The group of 14 umpires includes the trio of Claire Polosak, Jacquline Williams and Sue Redfern that will be appearing at their third Women's World Cup, while Lauren Agenbag and Kim Cotton will be at their second World Cup.

Australians Polosak and Eloise Sheridan will be the on-field umpires for the tournament opener on September 30.

Umpires: Lauren Agenbag, Candace la Borde, Kim Cotton, Sarah Dambanevana, Shathira Jakir Jesy, Kerrin Klaaste, Janani N, Nimali Perera, Claire Polosak, Vrinda Rathi, Sue Redfern, Eloise Sheridan, Gayathri Venugopalan, Jacquline Williams

Match Referees: Trudy Anderson, Shandré Fritz, GS Lakshmi, Michelle Pereira

Who is commentating?

A star-studded, female-led commentary team will provide expert insights for fans. World Cup winners Mel Jones, Isa Guha, Stacy-Ann King, and Julia Price will join former captains Mithali Raj, Sana Mir, Nasser Hussain and Anjum Chopra behind the microphone.

Adding further star power to the line-up are ICC men’s silverware winners Aaron Finch, Carlos Brathwaite and Dinesh Karthik, joined by former international stars Katey Martin, Ian Bishop, Natasha Farrant, Mpumelelo Mbangwa and Russell Arnold.

Completing the line-up are experienced broadcasters Natalie Germanos, Alan Wilkins and Kass Naidoo, alongside emerging broadcasters Raunak Kapoor and Jatin Sapru.

Who are the previous winners?

1973	England	1978	Australia
1982	Australia	1988	Australia
1993	England	1997	Australia
2000	New Zealand	2005	Australia
2009	England	2013	Australia
2017	England	2022	Australia

2025 Women's ODI World Cup

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham