Six teams, two World Cup spots on offer, many intrigues

The last stretch of the road to India begins in Pakistan, where six teams will compete for two spots at the Women's ODI World Cup later this year over the next few days.

All 15 matches will be held in Lahore, between the newly renovated Gaddafi Stadium and the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) ground, which will host women's internationals for the first time. Lahore was chosen as it will not have any PSL games taking place there for the duration of this event, and yes, that means the tournament clashes with not one but two of the biggest men's franchise competitions (the IPL and the PSL). If that means there's too much cricket to keep an eye on, we've got the cheat sheet to keep you covered.

To recap: six teams - hosts India, Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka - have already confirmed their places at the World Cup by virtue of their positions on the Women's Championship table played between 2022 and 2025. The four other teams in that competition - Bangladesh, Ireland, Pakistan and West Indies - will play in the qualifier, along with the two next highest teams on the ODI rankings at the cut-off date of October 28, 2024. Those two teams are Scotland and Thailand, who finished 11th and 12th.

The tournament takes the format of a league, in which each team will play the other five and the top two will qualify for the World Cup. Unlike the men's ODI World Cup qualifiers, there is no final, which is without any context in any case.

After a maiden ODI World Cup appearance in 2022, Bangladesh missed out on automatic qualification by the narrowest of margins. They finished on the same number of points as New Zealand but with a lower net run-rate and one fewer win, which pushed them into the qualifier. Their captain Nigar Sultana previously told ESPNcricinfo's Powerplay podcast that she hoped to avoid the tension and pressure of a qualifier through more consistent performances, but two series wins out of eight, over Ireland and Pakistan, were not enough to do that.

Still, Bangladesh enter the event as the most improved women's side over the cycle with a particularly strong and varied bowling attack. Among them is the fifth-highest wicket-taker of the women's championship overall: left-arm spinner Nahida Akter, who could be the player to watch in Pakistan. With a left-arm seamer in Fariha Trishna, right-arm seamer Marufa Akter, and three legspinners - Fahima Khatun, Shorna Akter and Rabeya Khan - Bangladesh will be difficult for most line-ups to negotiate. And given their quality, they would be disappointed if they don't secure one of the two spots.

The same could be said for West Indies, who were semi-finalists at the 2022 World Cup but have found themselves in the qualifiers now. In their women's championship campaign, they only beat their opponents who are at the qualifiers - Bangladesh, Ireland and Pakistan - which may bode well for them for this event but is also an indication of the gap between them and the top sides.

Another concern is how overly reliant West Indies have become on one player: their captain Hayley Matthews. She finished as the fifth-highest run-scorer and ninth-highest wicket-taker in the women's championship, where West Indies ended eighth, and she needs some support for West Indies to go further. On paper, West Indies have the personnel. Stafanie Taylor, Shemaine Campbelle, Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharak and Chinelle Henry all provide experience, while Zaida James, Janillia Glasgow, Mandy Mangru and Ashmini Munisar make up the younger crop. If they all click, West Indies should be shoo-ins for India, and anything less is likely to prompt severe introspection.

As hosts, Pakistan should be able to take advantage of familiar conditions to push for a World Cup spot, but recent form doesn't inspire confidence. They have not won an ODI since November 2023, and have since had a change in captaincy from the experienced Nida Dar to the potential of young Fatima Sana. At just 23, Sana is also their premier allrounder and, like Matthews, she needs others to stand up.

Muneeba Ali, Gull Feroza and Aliya Riaz are key with the bat, while Diana Baig's return from injury bolsters the seam department. Pakistan have a solid spin contingent in left-armers Sadia Iqbal and Nashra Sandhu, and could challenge Bangladesh and West Indies for a World Cup place. They have already beaten one of them, West Indies, by five wickets, in a warm-up game on Monday.

Should Pakistan qualify, it will complicate the World Cup schedule. After India and Pakistan agreed a hybrid structure for all ICC events starting with the Champions Trophy, Pakistan's matches must be played outside India, who have announced five host cities for the event. It is likely Pakistan's games will be in either Sri Lanka or the UAE.

Ireland have not qualified for an ODI World Cup since 2005, which is too long ago to make much material difference, but they do have recent World Cup pedigree. They have appeared at four T20 tournaments, most recently at the 2023 T20 World Cup in South Africa, but missed out on the 2024 edition after a shock defeat to Scotland in the qualifier.

Unlike Scotland, Ireland are part of the FTP, and would consider themselves Europe's second-best side (after England) and have the results to show for that. Since the last World Cup, Ireland have played 11 series and won four - against Netherlands, Scotland, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, - which suggests the quality is there. The question facing them is whether they have the ability to turn over the bigger sides consistently enough to start making regular World Cup appearances, and they would hope to start here.

Neither Scotland nor Thailand are part of the women's FTP or championship, neither have been to an ODI World Cup, and both have little experience in the format. Scotland have played 17 official ODIs, and Thailand nine. But they could be the Cinderella story of the qualifiers.

Scotland have some experience of what it takes to get to a global tournament after beating Ireland to qualify for the T20 World Cup, where they were thoroughly outplayed but won hearts. They will have Ireland in their sights again after beating them in an ODI 2023. Thailand, too, have World Cup experience. They were at the 2020 T20 World Cup and have 11 players from that tournament in this squad. Should either of them make it to the World Cup, expect questions to be raised about their inclusion in future editions of the FTP.