1973 Women's World Cup

Dates	20 June – 28 July 1973
Administrator(s)	International Women's Cricket Council
Cricket format	Women's One Day International (60-over)
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin
Host(s)	England
Champions	England[1] (1st title)
Runners-up	Australia
Participants	7
Matches	21
Most runs	Enid Bakewell (264)
Most wickets	(YE) Rosalind Heggs (12)
1978 →

The 1973 Women's Cricket World Cup was the inaugural Women's Cricket World Cup, held in England 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. The competition was won by the hosts, England.^[2] The competition was the brainchild of businessman Sir Jack Hayward, who contributed £40,000 towards its costs.

England, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica were joined by an International XI and a Young England 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.^[3]

The final round-robin match, held at Edgbaston 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 and the winning England team were hosted at a reception at 10 Downing Street by Prime Minister Edward Heath.^[4]

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.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	NR	Pts
1	England	6	5	1	0	0	20
2	Australia	6	4	1	0	1	17
3	New Zealand	6	3	2	0	1	13
4	International XI	6	3	2	0	1	13
5	Trinidad and Tobago	6	2	4	0	0	8
6	Jamaica	6	1	4	0	1	5
7	Young England	6	1	5	0	0	4

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Player[n 1]	Team	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	Highest Score	100s	50s
Enid Bakewell	England	6	4	264	88.00	118	2	0
Lynne Thomas	England	5	4	263	87.66	134	1	1
Rachael Heyhoe Flint	England	6	6	257	85.66	114	1	1
Jackie Potter	Australia	6	5	167	83.50	57	0	2
Vivalyn Latty-Scott	Jamaica	5	5	168	33.60	61	0	2
Geraldine Davies	Young England	5	5	157	31.40	65	0	2
Louise Browne	Trinidad and Tobago	6	6	150	30.00	50*	0	1

Player[n 2]	Team	Matches	Balls	Wickets	Average	Economy	BBI	4wi
Rosalind Heggs	Young England	6	340	12	14.91	3.15	3/16	0
Tina Macpherson	Australia	5	253	9	11.00	2.34	5/14	1
Julia Greenwood	Young England	5	310	9	13.66	2.38	3/21	0
Mary Pilling	England	6	354	9	10.22	1.55	2/6	0
Glynis Hullah	Young England	5	307	8	14.62	2.28	4/8	1
Nora St Rose	Trinidad and Tobago	6	396	8	10.25	1.24	3/16	0
June Stephenson	England	6	270	7	13.42	2.08	3/4	0

• 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