The 1973 Women's Cricket World Cup was the inaugural

Women's Cricket World Cup The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is the sport's oldest world championship, with the first tournament held in England in 1973. Matches are played as One Day Internationals (ODIs) over 50 overs per team, while there is also another champion ...

, held in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

between 20 June and 28 July 1973. It was the first tournament of its kind, held two years before the first limited overs World Cup for men in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. The competition was won by the hosts,

. The competition was the brainchild of businessman Sir Jack Hayward, who contributed £40,000 towards its costs. England,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

were joined by an International XI and a

Young England {{about, the Conservative political group, imaginary military society, Edward Oxford Young England was a Victorian era political group with a political message based on an idealised feudalism: an absolute monarch and a strong Established Church, ...

side in a round robin league which saw the top team win the World Cup. England topped the group with 20 points from their six matches, including five victories and one defeat, while Australia were runners up posting 17 points with four wins. The final round robin match, held at

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family ...

on 28 July, was distinguished by a commanding century by

Enid Bakewell Enid Bakewell ( Turton; born 16 December 1940) played for the English women's cricket team in 12 Tests between 1968 and 1979, and in 23 one-day international matches. A right-handed batter and slow left-arm orthodox bowler, on her figures she h ...

of England, whose 118 formed the bedrock of England's imposing 279/3 in their 60 overs, with captain

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, ( Heyhoe; 11 June 1939 – 18 January 2017) was an English cricketer, businesswoman and philanthropist. She was best known for being captain of England from 1966 to 1978, and was unbeaten in six T ...

scoring 64. Australia were restricted by tight England bowling and fell well short of their target, scoring 187/9. The cup was presented by

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...

and the winning England team were hosted at a reception at 10 Downing Street by Prime Minister

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

. Bakewell, one of England's finest all time players, was the leading run-scorer in the competition with 264 runs while

Rosalind Heggs Rosalind M Heggs (born 1952) is an English former cricketer who played as an all-rounder. She was a right-handed batter and right-arm off break bowler. She played for Young England in the 1973 Women's Cricket World Cup and the full England si ...

, of Young England, was the leading wicket-taker with 12 wickets. The next World Cup was held five years later in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

Standings

Matches

New Zealand vs Jamaica

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Australia vs Young England

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England vs International XI

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New Zealand vs Trinidad & Tobago

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Trinidad & Tobago vs Australia

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New Zealand vs International XI

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Jamaica vs England

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Jamaica vs Trinidad & Tobago

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Australia vs New Zealand

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England vs Jamaica

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Young England vs International XI

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Australia vs Jamaica

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New Zealand vs England

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Jamaica vs International XI

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Young England vs Trinidad & Tobago

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England vs Young England

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International XI vs Trinidad & Tobago

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Trinidad & Tobago vs England

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International XI vs Australia

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Young England vs New Zealand

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England v Australia

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Statistics

Most runs

Most wickets

Notes

References

External links

Results - Women's World Cup 1973
ESPN Cricinfo
RNZ: New Zealand set to host women's Cricket World Cup 49 years after the first one
– includes discussion of 1973 Women's Cricket World Cup from a New Zealand perspective {{DEFAULTSORT:World Cup 1973 1973 in women's cricket World Cup 1973 1973 in English cricket June 1973 sports events in the United Kingdom July 1973 sports events in the United Kingdom