I have said for a while that it is highly likely that England and Australia will contest the final of the Women’s World Cup next month. This was before I did some research tonight and looking at win percentages has further reinforced my view.
By comparing overall win percentages with those since the last World Cup, some very interesting things come to light. Australia have actually performed better since the 2009 event, winning 33 out of 42 games (overall 199 out of 258) while New Zealand have declined sharply.
England have been offering Australia the stiffest challenge but the likes of West Indies, South Africa and Pakistan have showed serious improvement. Pakistan’s figures jump from 27% (overall) to 56% (since 2009) but it must be remembered the majority of their matches have been against similarly ranked opposition or teams that haven’t qualified for the World Cup. Here’s the data:
And in graph form, showing the comparison:
Quite a decline for New Zealand and confirmation that the West Indies are a team on the rise. Don’t be surprised if they make it through to the semi-finals with New Zealand & India battling to avoid missing out.