1988 Women’s Cricket World Cup – A Summary
After 3 successful editions, the women’s cricket world cup was back yet again, this time after 6 long years in 1988, and was called the ‘1988 Shell Bicentennial Women’s World Cup’. The cup landed in Australia this time and was fought for from 29 November to 18 December.
Unlike its preceding edition, this one was played between 5 contenders- Australia, England, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Woefully, the previous edition’s host, India, was not able to participate due to a lack of finances. The result was identical, with Australia still taking revenge for their first loss, now recording a hat-trick of the world cup final wins, all against fearsome England. This was Australia’s tournament yet again with their Lindsay Reeler scoring the most runs and Lyn Fullston having the highest share of wickets to her name. Nevertheless, England’s Carole Hodges was adjudged player of the tournament for her 3rd highest runs and 2nd highest wickets.
The tournament’s 22 matches were played across 7 venues with the mighty Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) hosting the final. “I remember standing in the dressing room at the MCG and looking out into the vast stadium and thinking, “Wow, this place is just massive.”.”, England’s Janette Brittin quotes as she recalls the final.
Before we talk about the final encounter, let’s have a look at how the others performed.
New Zealand was adequately close to making it to the final this time, with 5 wins from their 8 which was just 1 less than England. Australia won 7 from their 8, placing them on top but ironically, their one loss came against the English women. The coin had turned in England’s favor as they chose to put up a score on the board. Courtesy of Australia’s excellent bowling performance, England was restricted to a manageable 167. However, the English bowlers proved to be even worthier and won it for their team by restricting Australia to just 152 in 57.4 overs, short of 15 runs. However, it wasn’t too long before the tables turned.
On 18th December 1988, they locked horns once again and the toss result replicated itself. However, this time England was able to post just 127/7 in their 60 which only any kind of surface is pretty disappointing. Australia chased this down in just 44.5 overs with Lindsay Reeler remaining unbeaten with her 59 off 147. What a moment it must’ve been for her to be the star performer of her team when it mattered most and for the team as a whole who just brought glory to their country for the 3rd time. This version of the world cup was again a memorable one owing to Australia’s hat-trick of wins and trust me when I say that they were just warming up…
Student, Athlete, and Cricket Enthusiast.