The 1973 Women's Cricket World Cup was the inaugural

Women's Cricket World Cup The Women's Cricket World Cup is the quadrennial international championship of Women's One Day International Cricket tournament. Matches are played as One Day Internationals over 50 overs per team. There is also another championship for Tw ...

, held in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

from 20 June to 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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

and

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

were joined by an International XI and a

Young England 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, with the philanthropy of '' noblesse oblige'' as the basis for its paternalistic ...

side in a round-robin league which saw the team with the most points 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 a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

on 28 July, was distinguished by a commanding century by Enid Bakewell of England, whose 118 formed the bedrock of England's imposing 279/3 in their 60 overs, with captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint 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 King ...

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 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

. Bakewell, one of England's finest all time players, was the leading run-scorer in the competition with 264 runs while Rosalind Heggs, 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 Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

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 Young 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 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

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