Since the first ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2009, 12 nations have played across nine tournaments, conjuring moments from the divine to the devastating.
Only four nations have won the tournament – Australia triumphing six times with England, New Zealand and the West Indies winning once each – but eight other teams will be eager to set the record straight this summer.
And in the tournament’s 17 years of history, records have been set, shattered and set again. Here are some of the best.
Most wickets in a single edition
Amelia Kerr – 15
En route to New Zealand’s maiden T20 World Cup title in 2024, all-rounder Amelia Kerr hoovered up 15 wickets to smash the record.
She notched a crucial 43 at No.3 against South Africa in the final, before spinning her way to three wickets for 24 to claim the record and turbocharge the White Ferns’ march to the trophy.
That broke the previous record of 13 wickets that was jointly held by England’s Anya Shrubsole (2014) and Australia’s Megan Schutt (2020).
Oldest winning captain
Sophie Devine – 35 years and 49 days
As a result of New Zealand’s triumph in 2024, Sophie Devine became the oldest captain to lift the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
That proved to be her final match as skipper of the White Ferns having already announced her decision to step down, but she is still playing a crucial role in the middle order.
Both Harmanpreet Kaur of India and Sri Lanka’s captain Chamari Athapaththu can beat the record if their nations were to triumph this summer.
Highest individual score
Meg Lanning – 126 not out
The tournament’s greatest ever knock came in 2014, when Australia faced Ireland in a Group A fixture in Bangladesh.
Meg Lanning’s stunning 126 not out came from just 65 balls and included four sixes and 18 fours, propelling Australia to a comfortable victory and setting them on their way to their third successive crown.
The knock was not Lanning’s highest in T20Is, as she made 133 not out against England in the Women’s Ashes in 2019.
Most appearances
Ellyse Perry – 47
Australian great Ellyse Perry has played a staggering 47 times at the T20 World Cup, five more than second-placed Suzie Bates.
Even more impressively, the all-rounder looks set to extend her record, as her streak of featuring at every tournament since its inception continues.
She and fellow Australia legend Alyssa Healy have won a record six tournaments, ranging from 2010 to 2023, but Healy retired early this year after 162 games for Australia.
Most wickets
Megan Schutt – 48
Despite playing her first tournament in 2016, Megan Schutt has sailed past more experienced bowlers on the all-time wicket-taking list.
Across her 29 matches, the Australian has taken 48 wickets at an average of 11.72 runs, boasting a better economy than South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail and Anya Shrubsole, who sit second and third respectively.
Most runs
Suzie Bates – 1216 runs
Across 42 matches from 2009 to 2024, New Zealand’s Suzie Bates piled on a stunning 1216 runs, over 200 more than next best, Stafanie Taylor of the West Indies.
Bates was instrumental in New Zealand’s win in 2024, scoring 32 in the final to take her tally for the tournament to 150.
Most sixes
Deandra Dottin – 31
A danger at any point in the game, Deandra Dottin has crashed a record 31 sixes over the rope across her ICC Women’s T20 World Cup career.
Nicknamed the ‘World Boss’, the devastating right-hander has played in every edition of the tournament, crunching nine sixes in one innings against South Africa as she made 112 not out in 2010.
Initially a Caribbean Games youth gold medallist in javelin and shot put, her love for cricket eventually won out, and she will be back for more at the T20 World Cup this summer.
Highest total
England – 213
England crushed Pakistan by 114 runs in their 2023 group stage fixture in Cape Town and are the only team to pass the 200-run mark at an ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Nat Sciver-Brunt crunched 81 runs from just 40 balls as part of a century partnership with Amy Jones, while Danni Wyatt added another 59.
England only lost five wickets for their record score and then kept Pakistan to 99 for nine as they swept to the largest winning margin in Women’s T20 World Cups.
Bangladesh have posted the lowest total, scoring 46 against the West Indies in 2018.
Highest average
Laura Wolvaardt – 43.30
Among players to have played at least 10 innings, Laura Wolvaardt’s record stands over the rest.
Her 43.30 average comes from accumulating 563 runs across 17 innings, including 33 in South Africa’s loss to New Zealand in the 2024 final as she finished as the tournament’s top run-scorer.
Beth Mooney sits in second with an average of 41.77 and both will be back for more in 2026.
Highest attendance
2020 final – 86,174
Australia’s victory against India smashed the attendance record not just for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, but for any form of women’s cricket.
Over 86,000 packed into the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women’s Day, surpassing the 60,000 that were at the 1997 Cricket World Cup final in Kolkata.
It was also the biggest attendance for either the men’s or women’s T20 World Cup final.
The 2026 edition is now looking to become the most attended tournament, with more tickets sold than ever before.
Third Moon
Viv Richards played both cricket and football world cups.
Evil Smith
None Knows What Happened to Hansie Cronje: People who have been following South African sports for a long time must know that Hansie Cronje was behind match-fixing in 2000. Soon after the dark secret got revealed, he died in a plane crash in 2002. Many experts say it was a planned murder by the criminals behind the scandal. But due to lack of evidence, none can prove the actual cause of death, and it still lingers in the history of South African sports as one of the biggest mysteries.