England Women T20 World Cup 2026 Group: Teams & Results
Women T20 World Cup 202610 min read2,152 words
England's group at the T20 World Cup 2026 was Group 2, and it contained New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland and Scotland. England won all five matches, topped the table with ten points and a net run rate of 2.134, and went through to the semi-finals alongside West Indies. That is the England Women T20 World Cup 2026 group in one paragraph. Everything below is the working.
The tournament was hosted by the England and Wales Cricket Board from 12 June to 5 July 2026: twelve teams, two groups of six, 33 matches across seven grounds in England, semi-finals at The Oval and a final at Lord's.
The final Group 2 table
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | NRR | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2.134 | 10 |
| 2 | West Indies | 5 | 3 | 2 | -0.147 | 6 |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 5 | 3 | 2 | -0.725 | 6 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 5 | 2 | 3 | -0.118 | 4 |
| 5 | Scotland | 5 | 1 | 4 | -0.232 | 2 |
| 6 | Ireland | 5 | 1 | 4 | -0.875 | 2 |
Top two qualified. West Indies and Sri Lanka finished level on six points and West Indies took second place on net run rate — the single most consequential decimal of the group stage, and the reason a side that lost its final match still made the semi-finals.
The format, in plain terms
Twelve teams were split into two groups of six. Every team played the other five in its group once, which produced 30 group matches. The top two in each group went to the semi-finals, and the two semi-final winners met in the final. Thirty-three matches in total.
Points worked the standard way: two for a win, one for a no result or tie where no other method of decision applied, none for a defeat. In a tournament played in England in June, that one point for a washout is not a theoretical clause — rain interrupted play during the group stage, and a side sitting on a poor run rate can find a no result more valuable than another team's win.
Group 1 was Australia, Bangladesh, India, the Netherlands, Pakistan and South Africa. Group 2 was England, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland and Scotland. On seeding the first of those was the harder pool; on the evidence of the group stage it also produced the eventual champion.
England's five group matches
| # | Opponent | Date | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sri Lanka | 12 June | Edgbaston, Birmingham | England won by 87 runs (219/1 v 132) |
| 8 | Ireland | 16 June | Hampshire Bowl, Southampton | England won by 4 wickets (119/6 v 118/9) |
| 16 | Scotland | 20 June | Headingley, Leeds | England won by 38 runs (200/5 v 162/7) |
| 24 | West Indies | 24 June | Lord's, London | England won by 38 runs (186/7 v 148/5) |
| 28 | New Zealand | 27 June | The Oval, London | England won by 9 wickets (164/1 v 163/6) |
Five wins, no defeats, and a run-rate margin that nobody else in the tournament approached. Only the Ireland match at Southampton was close, and that had as much to do with a rain break in the middle of a small chase as with the balance of the two sides.
The opening night at Edgbaston set the tone: 219 for 1, with Danni Wyatt-Hodge making an unbeaten 105 from 62 balls, and Sri Lanka bowled out for 132. Wyatt-Hodge went on to lead the tournament's run charts with 302.
Individual match detail is on the pages for England Women vs Ireland, England Women vs Scotland and England Women vs New Zealand.
How qualification actually worked
Two points a win, top two through. The complication is what happens when teams finish level, which they did.
The primary separator in a group of this kind is the number of matches won, and where that is also level, net run rate becomes decisive. West Indies and Sri Lanka each won three and lost two, so the tie went to run rate: -0.147 against -0.725. Beyond run rate, the standard hierarchy in ICC playing conditions moves on to the result of the match between the tied teams and then to pre-tournament ranking, but neither was needed here. If you need the precise wording of the tie-break clauses for a given edition, the ICC's published playing conditions for that tournament are the authority — the order has been amended between cycles and should not be assumed from memory.
Net run rate is calculated across the whole group stage, not per match: total runs scored divided by total overs faced, minus total runs conceded divided by total overs bowled. A team bowled out is treated as having faced its full allocation of overs. That last rule is why a heavy defeat in which you are dismissed in fourteen overs damages run rate far more than losing narrowly with wickets in hand.
Sri Lanka's -0.725 was the product of two significant beatings, including the 87-run defeat to England on the opening night. West Indies lost twice as well but by smaller margins — seven runs of daylight in the arithmetic proved to be the difference between a semi-final at The Oval and a flight home.
Why New Zealand went out
The defending champions finished fourth on four points. They beat Scotland and Ireland and lost to West Indies, Sri Lanka and England.
Two of those defeats were close: West Indies by seven wickets in a chase completed with balls to spare on 13 June, and Sri Lanka by five wickets on 16 June, both at the Hampshire Bowl. Their net run rate of -0.118 was in fact the best of the four sides that failed to qualify, which is the cruel part. Run rate only helps you if you have the points to make it relevant.
The final-day scenario was simple and public: New Zealand had to beat England at The Oval on 27 June to overtake West Indies. They made 163 for 6 and England chased it with nine wickets and sixteen balls in hand. West Indies lost to Ireland at Bristol the same day and qualified anyway.
The seven venues
| Ground | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Edgbaston | Birmingham | Staged the opening match, England v Sri Lanka on 12 June |
| Old Trafford | Manchester | Northern hub; hosted Scotland v Ireland and Sri Lanka v Scotland |
| Hampshire Bowl | Southampton | Four Group 2 matches including England v Ireland |
| Headingley | Leeds | England v Scotland and West Indies v Scotland |
| Bristol County Ground | Bristol | Three Group 2 matches on the final days of the pool stage |
| Lord's | London | England v West Indies, and the final on 5 July |
| The Oval | London | England v New Zealand, both semi-finals |
Spreading the tournament across seven grounds rather than concentrating it in London was a scheduling decision with a competitive edge to it: England played group matches in Birmingham, Southampton, Leeds and both London Test grounds, which is a fair approximation of a domestic season's travel and gave supporters in four regions a home fixture. The grounds themselves are covered in our English cricket grounds guide, with the history of the final's venue in Lord's cricket ground history.
Scenarios that mattered going into the last round
By the morning of 27 June the group was settled at the top and open in the middle. England were through as winners regardless. Below them:
- West Indies (six points after four matches) qualified if they won, and also qualified if they lost while New Zealand lost, on run rate.
- Sri Lanka (six points, all five played) could only wait. Their -0.725 run rate meant they needed West Indies to lose and to lose heavily enough to drop below them, which a six-wicket defeat to Ireland did not do.
- New Zealand (four points) needed to beat England, and needed the margin to be large enough to overhaul West Indies on run rate if it came to that.
None of it happened. West Indies lost, New Zealand lost, and the table stayed as it was. This is the recurring feature of six-team groups: the final round is often a set of scenarios that resolve without anyone changing position.
What happened after the group stage
Both semi-finals were played at The Oval. Australia beat West Indies by eight wickets on Tuesday 30 June; England beat South Africa by 40 runs on Thursday 2 July.
The final was at Lord's on Sunday 5 July. England posted 150 for 4 and Australia chased it down, reaching 153 for 3 in 17.1 overs to win by seven wickets with seventeen balls unused, taking a seventh Women's T20 World Cup. Beth Mooney was named Player of the Series. Danni Wyatt-Hodge finished as the tournament's leading run-scorer with 302 and India's Shree Charani as leading wicket-taker with 14.
England therefore left a home World Cup having won six of seven matches and lost the only one that decided anything — a familiar shape for English teams in global tournaments, and one covered in the longer view in England's white-ball revolution and England cricket team records.
Frequently asked questions
What group were England Women in at the T20 World Cup 2026?
Group 2, alongside New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland and Scotland. The other group — Group 1 — contained Australia, Bangladesh, India, the Netherlands, Pakistan and South Africa.
Did England win their group?
Yes. England won all five group matches for ten points and a net run rate of 2.134, the highest in either group.
How many teams qualified from each group?
Two. The top two in each group went to the semi-finals, making four knockout teams from twelve: England, West Indies, Australia and South Africa.
How did West Indies qualify ahead of Sri Lanka?
Both finished on six points with three wins from five. West Indies had the better net run rate — -0.147 to Sri Lanka's -0.725 — which was the deciding measure.
What was the format of the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup?
Twelve teams in two groups of six, each team playing the other five in its group once, producing 30 group matches. Top two per group into the semi-finals, then a final: 33 matches in total, played from 12 June to 5 July 2026 across seven English grounds.
How is net run rate calculated?
Runs scored per over faced across the whole group stage, minus runs conceded per over bowled. A team that is bowled out is charged the full allocation of overs rather than the overs it actually used, which is why being dismissed cheaply damages run rate disproportionately.
Where can I check the official group tables?
The ICC publishes the authoritative points tables, scorecards and playing conditions for each tournament. Tie-break rules in particular have been amended between editions, so check the playing conditions for the specific event rather than assuming they carry over.
Who won the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup?
Australia, beating England by seven wickets in the final at Lord's on 5 July 2026.
Planning around a tournament like this
If you are reading this ahead of the next edition rather than looking back at the last one, the practical pages are the ones on venues, tickets and coverage. Our guide to the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 England venues sets out what each of the seven grounds is like on a match day; Women's T20 World Cup 2026 tickets in England covers how the ballots and general sale worked; and how to watch the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 in the UK deals with broadcast and streaming. Ground-specific match-day detail for the two London venues used in the knockouts is in the Lord's match day guide and the Kia Oval match day guide.
The one piece of advice worth repeating for any ICC event staged in England: buy for the ground rather than the fixture if you can, because group-stage scheduling shifts and the ties that look dead on paper in March are frequently the ones that decide qualification in June.
More on the English game: the England cricket hub, the cricket in England section and England women's cricket history, which explains how the side that filled Lord's in July got there.