The Women's T20 World Cup starts in the UAE on Thursday 3rd October and Australia are understandably regarded as the team to beat.
The Aussies have won six of the eight previous tournaments, including the last three in 2018, 2020 and 2023, but India and England are capable of laying down a serious challenge to the trophy favourites.
- NAME THE FINALISTS - AUSTRALIA VS ENGLAND
- SOPHIE ECCLESTONE TOP TOURNAMENT WICKET-TAKER
- LAURA WOLVAARDT TOP SOUTH AFRICA TOURNAMENT RUNSCORER
Batters And Spin To Boost England
England won the T20 World Cup in 2009 and their 2024 squad is capable of another good run, having beaten Australia 2-1 in last summer's Ashes T20 series.
The Aussies invariably raise their game at major tournaments so backing an Australia-England final is an appealing bet given that they are in different groups.
Both are favourites to top their five-team sections although Australia have the tougher draw against India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
England have a wealth of experience in the form of skipper Heather Knight, ace all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, opener Danni Wyatt and wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones.
Youngsters Alice Capsey and Freya Kemp add some real power to the batting unit and England's spin-heavy bowling attack should be ideally suited to conditions in Sharjah and Dubai.
Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn provide great control as well as a wicket-taking threat and England's increasingly aggressive batting approach gives them the edge over potential semi-final opponents India.
NAME THE FINALISTS - AUSTRALIA VS ENGLAND
Ecclestone Can Enhance Her Reputation
England spinner Ecclestone is top of the ICC's bowling rankings in both ODIs and T20 internationals and she is worth backing to be the leading wicket-taker at the tournament.
The left-armer is a model of consistency so opposition batters have to take risks in order to score runs off her.
England's Group B rivals South Africa, West Indies, Scotland and Bangladesh will all be wary of Ecclestone's threat given her impressive performances against the top teams recently.
She took 4-25 at Canterbury and 2-16 at The Oval during England's 5-0 series clean sweep of New Zealand in July, having claimed seven wickets in three matches against India in Mumbai last December.
In last summer's Ashes T20 series, Ecclestone picked up five wickets in three games and she took 3-22 in the 2023 T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to South Africa, finishing as the top bowler at the tournament with 11 scalps in five games.
SOPHIE ECCLESTONE TOP TOURNAMENT WICKET-TAKER
Wolvaardt Should Lead From The Front
South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt also starred at last year's T20 World Cup, topping the batting chart with 230 runs in six innings.
Wolvaardt had home advantage in that tournament, where South Africa lost to Australia in the final, but she has shown her ability to score runs all over the world.
She took over as captain of the T20 side last September and has reached 40 in nine of her 17 innings as skipper, including a brilliant 102 off 63 balls against Sri Lanka in Benoni in March.
Wolvaardt's unbeaten 58 led South Africa to January's victory over Australia in Canberra, where the hosts' highest score was 31 from number seven Grace Harris.
The 25-year-old seems to relish the responsibility of captaincy and she can be a devastating short-format batter.
She cracked 78 not out off 52 balls for Manchester Originals against Southern Brave in The Hundred in August and her consistency makes her a solid bet to top-score for South Africa at the T20 World Cup.
LAURA WOLVAARDT TOP SOUTH AFRICA TOURNAMENT RUNSCORER
