India ended the first week of the Women’s Cricket World Cup at the top of the leaderboard after winning both of their opening two matches, whilst England and Bangladesh also finished the first week with a 100% win rate.

Australia and Sri Lanka ended the week on 3 points and 1 point, respectively, after their NR, meanwhile South Africa sit in 5th after one win and one loss, whilst New Zealand and Pakistan both remain winless after two matches.

ODI 8: England vs Bangladesh

Sobhana Mostary’s half-century and quite a few fielding errors from England gave Bangladesh a convincing chance at maintaining their 100% winning rate. However, despite Rabeya Khan’s 43 not out, England managed to keep Bangladesh to 178 runs thanks to Sophie Ecclestone’s 3/24 in 10 overs.

Bangladesh and their bowlers made England’s chase of 178 runs difficult, as they took two wickets in the 18th over, whilst Fahima Khatun took 3 wickets from 10 overs with just 16 runs given. However, Heather Knight’s 79 not out from 111 balls led England to their second win out of their two opening matches of the tournament.

Result: England beat Bangladesh by 4 wickets.

ODI 9: Australia vs Pakistan

Australia’s Beth Mooney recorded 109 runs, whilst Alana King scored a half-century not out as they helped Australia to 221/9 at the end of their innings. Nashra Sandhu took 3 wickets in 10 overs as Pakistan looked to halt Australia’s progress, and twice they managed to take two wickets in 5 balls for just 1 run.

However, despite Pakistan and Sandhu’s fielding and bowling, they were unable to capitalise, as their highest run scorer was Sidra Amin with 35 runs from 52 balls. Australia’s bowling began strong as they took 5 wickets in the first powerplay (opening 10 overs) and managed to get Pakistan all out for 114 in 36.3 overs.

Result: Australia beat Pakistan by 107 runs.

ODI 10: India vs South Africa

India opened strongly as their first wicket fell at 55 runs and 10.2 overs, but in 9 overs (between the 17th and 26th overs) they lost 5 wickets for 47 runs as South Africa’s Chloe Tryon took 3 wickets in 10 overs. India then managed to recover their batting to reach a final score of 251 thanks to Richa Ghosh’s 94 runs.

Despite two early wickets, opening batswoman Laura Wolvaardt scored 70 runs off 111 balls as South Africa completed the most shocking win of the tournament so far. Player of the match Nadine De Klerk also scored a half-century as she recorded 84 runs off 54 balls after her previous 2/52 in India’s innings.

Result: South Africa beat India by 3 wickets.

ODI 11: New Zealand vs Bangladesh

New Zealand’s Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday both hit half-centuries as they scored 132 runs between them to help their country reach 227 runs at the end of their innings. However, Bangladesh’s Khan showed a strong bowling display as she ended the innings on 3/30 after she took two wickets in two balls.

Bangladesh ended their innings on 127 all out, with their highest run scorer being Fahima Khatun, who scored 34 runs off 80 balls. This is partly because they struggled to get started after losing three wickets in the opening 10 overs, as New Zealand’s Jess Kerr and Lea Tahuhu both took three wickets to limit Bangladesh’s chance at their second win of the tournament.

Result: New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 100 runs.

ODI 12: England vs Sri Lanka

Nat Sciver-Brunt hit 117 runs off 117 balls as England recovered from 2 wickets in the opening powerplay as well as three wickets between the 30th and 35th overs to reach 253/9. Sri Lanka’s Inoka Ranaweera also performed well in England’s innings, as she ended her 10 overs on 3/33, as she took two wickets in the 34th over.

Sri Lanka had the better start of the two nations, but they were unable to make their promising start count, as they lost four wickets between the 20th and 30th overs in a low-scoring innings. England’s bowlers took control of the match as Sophie Ecclestone took 4 wickets, and the Player of the Match, Sciver-Brunt, added two wickets to her impressive batting display.

Result: England beat Sri Lanka by 89 runs.

ODI 13: India vs Australia

India began their innings strong as their opening batswomen, Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana, scored 75 and 80 runs, respectively, before their middle and bottom order batters combined for 175 runs between them to post the highest ODI total ever conceded by Australia. Australia’s Annabel Sutherland and Sophie Molineux took 5 and 3 wickets each as they set their nation up for a chase of 330.

However, it was Australia’s Alyssa Healy who stole the show thanks to her 142 runs off 107 balls, which helped her side to complete a record women’s one-day international chase as they recorded their third win of the tournament. Sree Charani was India’s best-performing bowler, as she finished at 3/41 after 10 overs for an economy of 4.10.

Result: Australia beat India by 3 wickets.

ODI 14: South Africa vs Bangladesh

Both Sharmin Akhter and Shorna Akter scored half-centuries for Bangladesh despite the game being low scoring, as Bangladesh still had three batters yet to bat at the end of the 50 overs. Only four wickets fell during the innings, with Nonkululeko Mlaba taking two, with two run-outs also being recorded to leave Bangladesh at 232/6.

Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon both scored over 50 runs, helping South Africa avoid an upset and secure their third win of the tournament. Although Nahida Akter took two wickets for Bangladesh, she and her teammates could not prevent South Africa from successfully completing their chase with three wickets and three balls remaining. 

Result: South Africa beat Bangladesh by 3 wickets

Standings after ODI 14

Australia move to the top of the standings after their wins against Pakistan and India, whilst England move into second with one game in hand after their wins against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, leaving them with a 100% win record.

South Africa moved up to 3rd place after a win against Bangladesh and a shock victory over India who move down to 4th after losses to South Africa and Australia.

New Zealand won their first game of the tournament to move up to 5th place, and Bangladesh dropped down to 6th after losses to England, New Zealand and South Africa.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan sit in 7th and 8th, respectively, as they have both yet to get their first win of the World Cup despite playing 3 games apiece as of ODI 14.