Chinmoyin at 23:20, 4 February 2026

2026-02-04T23:20:57Z

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{{use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox cricket tournament
| name = 1978 Women's Cricket World Cup
| image = 1978 Women's Cricket World Cup.png
| fromdate = 1
| todate = 13 January 1978
| administrator = [[International Women's Cricket Council]]
| cricket format = [[Women's One Day International]] ([[Limited-overs cricket|50-over]])
| tournament format = [[Round-robin tournament|Round-robin]]
| host = India
| champions = {{crw|Australia}}
| count = 1
| runner up = {{crw|England}}
| participants = 4
| matches = 6
| player of the series =
| most runs = {{criconw|AUS}} [[Margaret Jennings (cricketer)|Margaret Jennings]] (127)
| most wickets = {{criconw|AUS}} [[Sharyn Hill]] (7)
| website =
| previous_year = 1973
| previous_tournament = 1973 Women's Cricket World Cup
| next_year = 1982
| next_tournament = 1982 Women's Cricket World Cup
}}

The '''1978 Women's Cricket World Cup''' was an international [[cricket]] tournament played in India from 1 to 13 January 1978. Hosted by India for the first time, it was the second edition of the [[Women's Cricket World Cup]], after the inaugural [[1973 Women's Cricket World Cup|1973 World Cup]] in England.

The World Cup was the first international cricket tournament hosted by India.<ref name=fernando>{{cite news|url=https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/a-world-cup-lost-and-found-111641555305806.html|title=A World Cup lost and found|publisher=Mint|first=Benita|last=Fernando|date=22 June 2019|access-date=25 August 2025}}</ref> Only four teams participated, the lowest number in the tournament's history – [[Australia women's national cricket team|Australia]], [[England women's cricket team|England]], [[India women's national cricket team|India]] and [[New Zealand women's national cricket team|New Zealand]]. The teams played a [[round-robin tournament]] of three matches each, with Australia going undefeated to claim its first title. Australia's captain, [[Margaret Jennings (cricketer)|Margaret Jennings]], led the tournament in runs, while her teammate, [[Sharyn Hill]], led the tournament in wickets. Three of the five highest scorers as well as three of the five leading wicket-takers in the tournament were from Australia. [[Sharon Tredrea]] featured in both lists, being the second-highest wicket-taker and fourth-highest scorer of the tournament.<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/1/Womens_World_Cup_1977-78/Batting_by_Runs.html Women's World Cup 1977/78 (ordered by runs)] – CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 August 2015.</ref><ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/1/Womens_World_Cup_1977-78/Bowling_by_Wickets.html Women's World Cup 1977/78 (ordered by wickets)] – CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 August 2015.</ref>

==Background==
It was originally proposed that South Africa host the World Cup, but this was abandoned to conform with the [[Sporting boycott of South Africa during the Apartheid era|Apartheid-era sporting boycott of the country]]. The [[Board of Control for Cricket in India|Women's Cricket Association of India]] (WCAI) then made a successful bid, and served as the primary organiser, with the [[International Women's Cricket Council]] (IWCC) providing only limited oversight.<ref>{{cite book |last=Velija|first=Philippa|date=2015|title=Women's Cricket and Global Processes: The Emergence and Development of Women's Cricket as a Global Game|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJMMCgAAQBAJ|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|page=99|isbn=9781137323538}}</ref>

==Participating teams==
Along with [[India women's national cricket team|India]], which was making its debut, five other teams were originally invited – [[Australia women's national cricket team|Australia]], [[England women's cricket team|England]], the [[Netherlands women's national cricket team|Netherlands]], [[New Zealand women's national cricket team|New Zealand]], and the [[West Indies women's national cricket team|West Indies]]. The Netherlands and the West Indies, which had both not previously participated, were forced to withdraw due to financial issues.<ref name="mukherjee">Abhishek Mukherjee (15 January 2014). [http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/australia-women-lift-1978-world-cup-the-tournament-which-was-almost-calld-off-85737 "Australia Women lift 1978 World Cup — the tournament which was almost called off"] – CricketCountry. Retrieved 30 August 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/149452.html |title=Quick, quick Snow |work=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref>

===Squads===
Information is only available for players who played at least one match at the tournament.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width=20% | {{crw|AUS}}<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/1/Womens_World_Cup_1977-78/Australia_Women_Batting.html Batting and fielding for Australia women], Women's World Cup 1977/78 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2015.</ref>
! width=20% | {{crw|ENG}}<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/1/Womens_World_Cup_1977-78/England_Women_Batting.html Batting and fielding for England women], Women's World Cup 1977/78 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2015.</ref>
! width=20% | {{crw|IND}}<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/1/Womens_World_Cup_1977-78/India_Women_Batting.html Batting and fielding for India women], Women's World Cup 1977/78 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2015.</ref>
! width=20% | {{crw|NZL}}<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/1/Womens_World_Cup_1977-78/New_Zealand_Women_Batting.html Batting and fielding for New Zealand women], Women's World Cup 1977/78 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2015.</ref>
|-
|valign=top|
* [[Margaret Jennings (cricketer)|Margaret Jennings]] ([[Captain (cricket)|c]])
* [[Elaine Bray]]
* [[Marie Lutschini|Marie Cornish]]
* [[Valerie Farrell]]
* [[Lorraine Hill]]
* [[Sharyn Hill]]
* [[Wendy Hills]]
* [[Jan Lumsden]]
* [[Julie Stockton]]
* [[Raelee Thompson]]
* [[Janette Tredrea]]
* [[Sharon Tredrea]]
* [[Peta Verco]]
|valign=top|
* [[Mary Pilling]] ([[Captain (cricket)|c]])
* [[Jacqueline Court]]
* [[Heather Dewdney]]
* [[Rosalind Heggs]]
* [[Shirley Hodges]]
* [[Glynis Hullah]]
* [[Megan Lear]]
* [[Catherine Mowat]]
* [[Lynne Thomas (cricketer)|Lynne Thomas]]
* [[Chris Watmough]]
* [[Margaret Wilks]]
|valign=top|
* [[Diana Edulji]] ([[Captain (cricket)|c]])
* [[Gargi Banerji]]
* [[Runa Basu]]
* [[Lopamudra Bhattacharji]]
* [[Sharmila Chakraborty]]
* [[Rajeshwari Dholakia]]
* [[Susan Itticheria]]
* [[Nilima Jogalekar]]
* [[Fowzieh Khalili]]
* [[Shubhangi Kulkarni]]
* [[Sandhya Mazumdar]]
* [[Ujwala Nikam]]
* [[Shobha Pandit]]
* [[Kalpan Paropkari]]
* [[Sudha Shah]]
* [[Anjali Sharma (cricketer)|Anjali Sharma]]
|valign=top|
* [[Trish McKelvey]] ([[Captain (cricket)|c]])
* [[Liz Allan (cricketer)|Liz Allan]]
* [[Eileen Badham]]
* [[Barbara Bevege]]
* [[Vicki Burtt]]
* [[Pat Carrick]]
* [[Sheree Harris]]
* [[Cheryl Henshilwood]]
* [[Linda Lindsay]]
* [[Karen Hadlee|Karen Marsh]]
* [[Sue Rattray]]
* [[Edna Ryan (cricketer)|Edna Ryan]]
* [[Viv Sexton]]
|}

==Venues==

{{Location map+|India|width=400|float=center
|caption=Four venues hosted matches at the 1978 Women's World Cup:
* [[Eden Gardens]], [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] – one match
* [[Keenan Stadium]], [[Jamshedpur]] – one match
* [[Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad|Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium]], [[Hyderabad]] – two matches
* [[Moin-ul-Haq Stadium]], [[Patna]] – two matches
|places=
{{Location map~|India|lat_deg=22|lat_min=48|lon_deg=86|lon_min=11|position=left|background=|label=[[Keenan Stadium|Jamshedpur]]|label_size=80}}
{{Location map~|India|lat_deg=22|lat_min=34|lon_deg=88|lon_min=20|position=right|background=|label=[[Eden Gardens|Calcutta]]|label_size=80}}
{{Location map~|India|lat_deg=25|lat_min=36|lon_deg=85|lon_min=10|position=right|background=|label=[[Moin-ul-Haq Stadium|Patna]]|label_size=80}}
{{Location map~|India|lat_deg=17|lat_min=24|lon_deg=78|lon_min=28|position=right|background=|label=[[Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad|Hyderabad]]|label_size=80}}
}}

==Warm-up matches==
At least five warm-up matches were played against various local Indian teams, all but one of which came before the tournament.<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/1/Womens_World_Cup_1977-78.html Women's World Cup 1977/78] – CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2015.</ref>
{{hidden begin
|title = Warm-up matches
|titlestyle = background:lightblue;
}}
{{Limited Overs Matches
| date = 28 December 1977
| time =
| team1 = {{crw-rt|ENG}}
| score1 =
| score2 =
| team2 = {{flagicon|IND}} [[East Zone cricket team|East Zone]]
| result = Result unknown
| report =
| venue = [[Eden Gardens]], [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]]
| motm =
| toss =
| notes =
}}
----
{{Limited Overs Matches
| date = 28 December 1977
| time =
| team1 = {{crw-rt|NZL}}
| team2 = {{flagicon|IND}} [[Cricket Association of Bengal|West Bengal WCA President's XI]]
| score1 =
| score2 =
| result = Result unknown
| report =
| venue = [[Calcutta Cricket and Football Club]], [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]]
| motm =
| toss =
| notes =
}}
----
{{Limited Overs Matches
| date = 28 December 1977
| time =
| team1 = {{crw-rt|AUS}}
| team2 = {{flagicon|IND}} [[Indian Universities cricket team|Indian Universities Women's Team]]
| score1 =
| score2 =
| result = Result unknown
| report =
| venue = [[Pune]], [[Maharashtra]] (exact venue unknown)
| motm =
| toss =
| notes =
}}
----
{{Limited Overs Matches
| date = 30 December 1977
| time =
| team1 = {{crw-rt|ENG}}
| team2 = {{flagicon|IND}} [[Cricket Association of Bengal|West Bengal WCA President's XI]]
| score1 =
| score2 =
| result = Result unknown
| report =
| venue = [[Calcutta Cricket and Football Club]], [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]]
| motm =
| toss =
| notes =
}}
----
{{Limited Overs Matches
| date = 2 January 1978
| time =
| team1 = {{crw-rt|ENG}}
| team2 = {{flagicon|IND}} [[East Zone cricket team|East Zone]]
| score1 =
| score2 =
| result = Result unknown
| report =
| venue = [[Eden Gardens]], [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]]
| motm =
| toss =
| notes =
}}
{{hidden end}}

==Group stage==
===Points table===
{{#invoke:Sports table|main|style=CricketRR
|update=complete
|source=[https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/women-s-world-cup-1977-78-61181/points-table-standings ESPNcricinfo][https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/Tables/1/Womens_World_Cup_1977-78.html CricketArchive]
|nrr_header=<abbr title="Run rate">[[Run rate|RR]]</abbr>
|team_order=AUS, ENG, NZL, IND
|result1=Q |col_Q=#cfc
|name_AUS={{crw|AUS}} |win_AUS=3 |loss_AUS=0 |rs_AUS=427 |or_AUS=130.5 |ob_AUS=1
|name_ENG={{crw|ENG}} |win_ENG=2 |loss_ENG=1 |rs_ENG=321 |or_ENG=120.5 |ob_ENG=1
|name_IND={{crw|IND}} |win_IND=0 |loss_IND=3 |rs_IND=272 |or_IND=136.5 |ob_IND=1
|name_NZL={{crw|NZL}} |win_NZL=1 |loss_NZL=2 |rs_NZL=399 |or_NZL=143.4 |ob_NZL=1
}}

* Note: [[run rate]] was to be used as a tiebreaker in the case of teams finishing on an equal number of points, rather than [[net run rate]] (as is now common).<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/Tables/0/Shell_Bicentennial_Womens_World_Cup_1988-89.html Shell Bicentennial Women's World Cup 1988/89 table] – CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2015.</ref>

==Matches==
===New Zealand vs Australia===
{{Single-innings cricket match
| date = 1 January
| time =
| team1 = {{crw-rt|AUS}}
| score1 = 177 (49.2 overs)
| runs1 = [[Wendy Hills]] 64
| wickets1 = [[Barb Bevege]] 3/17 (9.2 overs)
| team2 = {{crw|NZL}}
| score2 = 111/8 (50 overs)
| runs2 = [[Trish McKelvey]] 37
| wickets2 = [[Sharyn Hill]] 3/16 (10 overs)
| result = Australia won by 66 runs
| report = [http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66901.html Scorecard]
| venue = [[Keenan Stadium]], [[Jamshedpur]], [[Bihar]] (now [[Jharkhand]])
| umpires = KVK Rao (IND) and [[Sukha Bose]] (IND)
| toss = Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
| notes = [[Peta Verco]], [[Sharyn Hill]] (Aus), [[Cheryl Henshilwood]], [[Edna Ryan (cricketer)|Edna Ryan]], [[Pat Carrick]], [[Sheree Harris]], [[Vicki Burtt]] and [[Viv Sexton]] (NZ) all made their WODI debuts.
}}

===India vs England===
{{Single-innings cricket match
| date = 1 January
| time =
| team1 = {{crw-rt|IND}}
| score1 = 63 (39.3 overs)
| runs1 = [[Diana Edulji]] 18
| wickets1 = [[Margaret Wilks]] 2/6 (6 overs)
| team2 = {{crw|ENG}}
| score2 = 65/1 (30.2 overs)
| runs2 = [[Lynne Thomas (cricketer)|Lynne Thomas]] 43[[Not out|*]]
| wickets2 = [[Diana Edulji]] 1/18 (10 overs)
| result = England won by 9 wickets
| report = [http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66904.html Scorecard]
| venue = [[Eden Gardens]], [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]]
| umpires = Bhairab Ganguly (IND) and [[Sunit Ghosh]] (IND)
| toss = England won the toss and elected to bowl.
| notes = [[Anjali Sharma (cricketer)|Anjali Sharma]], [[Diana Edulji]], [[Fowzieh Khalili]], [[Gargi Banerjee]], [[Kalpan Paropkari]], [[Lopamudra Bhattacharji]], [[Nilima Jogalekar]], [[Runa Basu]], [[Sandhya Mazumdar]], [[Sharmila Chakraborty]], [[Shobha Pandit]] (Ind) and [[Catherine Mowat]] (Eng) all made their WODI debuts.
}}

===New Zealand vs India===
{{Single-innings cricket match
| date = 5 January
| time =
| team1 = {{crw-rt|IND}}
| score1 = 130/9 (50 overs)
| runs1 = [[Ujwala Nikam]] 31[[Not out|*]]
| wickets1 = [[Linda Lindsay]] 2/26 (10 overs) <br> [[Pat Carrick]] 2/26 (9 overs)
| team2 = {{crw|NZL}}
| score2 = 131/1 (44 overs)
| runs2 = [[Barb Bevege]] 67[[Not out|*]]
| wickets2 = [[Anjali Sharma (cricketer)|Anjali Sharma]] 1/32 (10 overs)
| result = New Zealand won by 9 wickets
| report = [http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66907.html Scorecard]
| venue = [[Moin-ul-Haq Stadium]], [[Patna]], [[Bihar]]
| motm =
| toss = India won the toss and elected to bat.
| notes = [[Shubhangi Kulkarni]], [[Sudha Shah]], [[Susan Itticheria]], [[Ujwala Nikam]] (Ind) and [[Linda Lindsay]] (NZ) all made their WODI debuts.
}}

===India vs Australia===
{{Single-innings cricket match
| date = 8 January
| time =
| team1 = {{crw-rt|AUS}}
| score1 = 150/8 (50 overs)
| runs1 = [[Sharon Tredrea]] 56
| wickets1 = [[Lopamudra Bhattacharji]] 2/23 (10 overs)
| team2 = {{crw|IND}}
| score2 = 79 (47.2 overs)
| runs2 = [[Shobha Pandit]] 17
| wickets2 = [[Peta Verco]] 3/9 (9 overs)
| result = Australia won by 71 runs
| report = [http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66908.html Scorecard]
| venue = [[Moin-ul-Haq Stadium]], [[Patna]], [[Bihar]]
| umpires = KVK Rao (IND) and [[Sukha Bose]] (IND)
| toss = India won the toss and elected to bowl.
| notes = [[Rajeshwari Dholakia]] (Ind) made her WODI debut.
}}

===New Zealand vs England===
{{Single-innings cricket match
| date = 8 January
| time =
| team1 = {{crw-rt|NZL}}
| score1 = 157 (49.4 overs)
| runs1 = [[Barb Bevege]] 57
| wickets1 = [[Jacqueline Court]] 4/29 (10 overs)
| team2 = {{crw|ENG}}
| score2 = 160/3 (40.3 overs)
| runs2 = [[Lynne Thomas (cricketer)|Lynne Thomas]] 47
| wickets2 = [[Sue Rattray]] 2/33 (6 overs)
| result = England won by 7 wickets
| report = [http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66912.html Scorecard]
| venue = [[Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad|Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium]], [[Hyderabad]], [[Andhra Pradesh]] (now [[Telangana]])
| motm =
| toss = England won the toss and elected to bowl.
| notes = [[Karen Marsh|Karen Hadlee]] (NZ) made her WODI debut.
}}

===England vs Australia===
Both Australia and England went into the last match of the tournament undefeated, which meant it functioned as a ''de facto'' final, akin to the [[Uruguay v Brazil (1950 FIFA World Cup)|Uruguay v Brazil]] match at the [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950 Football World Cup]].<ref name="mukherjee"/>

{{Single-innings cricket match
| date = 13 January
| time =
| team1 = {{crw-rt|ENG}}
| score1 = 96/8 (50 overs)
| runs1 = [[Shirley Hodges]] 26
| wickets1 = [[Sharon Tredrea]] 4/25 (10 overs)
| team2 = {{crw|AUS}}
| score2 = 100/2 (31.3 overs)
| runs2 = [[Margaret Jennings (cricketer)|Margaret Jennings]] 57[[Not out|*]]
| wickets2 = [[Glynis Hullah]] 2/9 (6 overs)
| result = Australia won by 8 wickets
| report = [http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66913.html Scorecard]
| venue = [[Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad|Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium]], [[Hyderabad]], [[Andhra Pradesh]] (now [[Telangana]])
| umpires = SA Swaminathan (IND) and V. K. Ramaswamy (IND)
| toss = Australia won the toss and elected to bowl.
}}

==Notable aspects==
The World Cup was reportedly poorly organised, with the conflicts between the WCAI, Indian state governments and the national governments. The visiting international teams were advised that the tournament would be held from 29 December 1977 to 23 January 1978 and were requested to arrive in mid-December for warm-up matches. They arrived to find that no matches had been organised; the WCAI issued an itinerary after the first match, but only around half of the anticipated matches were completed.<ref>{{cite news|title=World Cup a Shamble|first=Pauline|last=Bunce|newspaper=Sportsweek|year=1978}}</ref>

The tournament nonetheless attracted large crowds.<ref name=fernando/> England's [[Megan Lear]] later recounted that the "most memorable part of [the] tournament was playing in front of crowds of 40,000 plus".<ref>(5 March 2009). [http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/393264.html "'Our laundry laid out to dry on the rocks'"] – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 August 2015.</ref>

The Indians were the first women's team to play in trousers; at the previous World Cup all teams had played in skirts.<ref name=fernando/>

==Statistics==

===Most runs===
The top five runscorers are included in this table, ranked by runs scored and then by [[batting average (cricket)|batting average]].

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Player !! Team !! Runs !! Inns !! Avg !! Highest !! 100s !! 50s
|-
| [[Margaret Jennings (cricketer)|Margaret Jennings]] || {{crw|AUS}} || '''127''' || 3 || 63.50 || 57* || 0 || 1
|-
| [[Barbara Bevege]] || {{crw|NZ}} || '''126''' || 3 || 63.00 || 67* || 0 || 2
|-
| [[Lynne Thomas (cricketer)|Lynne Thomas]] || {{crw|ENG}} || '''109''' || 3 || 54.50 || 47 || 0 || 0
|-
| [[Sharon Tredrea]] || {{crw|AUS}} || '''87''' || 2 || 43.50 || 56 || 0 || 1
|-
| [[Wendy Hills]] || {{crw|AUS}} || '''66''' || 3 || 22.00 || 64 || 0 || 1
|-
|}
Source: [https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?id=922;type=tournament ESPNcricinfo] [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/1/Womens_World_Cup_1977-78/Batting_by_Runs.html CricketArchive]

===Most wickets===

The top five wicket takers are listed in this table, ranked by wickets taken and then by [[bowling average]].
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Player !! Team !! Overs !! Wkts !! Ave !! SR !! Econ !! BBI
|-
| [[Sharyn Hill]] || {{crw|AUS}} || 30.0 || '''7''' || 7.57 || 25.71 || 1.76 || 3/16
|-
| [[Sharon Tredrea]] || {{crw|AUS}} || 25.0 || '''6''' || 7.00 || 25.00 || 1.68 || 4/25
|-
| [[Pat Carrick]] || {{crw|NZ}} || 29.0 || '''6''' || 17.66 || 29.00 || 3.65 || 3/43
|-
| [[Glynis Hullah]] || {{crw|ENG}} || 21.1 || '''5''' || 6.80 || 25.40 || 1.60 || 2/2
|-
| [[Peta Verco]] || {{crw|AUS}} || 23.0 || '''5''' || 7.40 || 27.60 || 1.60 || 3/9
|-
|}

Source: [https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?id=922;type=tournament ESPNcricinfo]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Women's Cricket World Cup}}
{{International women's cricket tours of India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Women's Cricket World Cup, 1978}}
[[Category:1978 Women's Cricket World Cup| ]]
[[Category:1978 in women's cricket]]
[[Category:Women's Cricket World Cup tournaments|1978]]
[[Category:1978 in Indian cricket]]
[[Category:Women's international cricket competitions in India|World Cup 1978]]
[[Category:January 1978 sports events in Asia]]

1978 Women's Cricket World Cup - Revision history

Chinmoyin at 23:20, 4 February 2026