Women's T20 World Cup prediction and cricket betting tips

Where to watch

Tournament starts 11am Thursday and all matches are live on Sky Sports

Best bets

Australia vs England final
3pts 9-4 bet365

Alice Capsey top England tournament runscorer
1pt 3-1 bet365

Sri Lanka to reach the semi-finals
2pts 9-2 bet365

Women's T20 World Cup predictions

England won the inaugural Women's T20 World Cup at Lord's in 2009 but Australia have won six of the seven subsequent editions and they are odds-on for this year's tournament in the UAE.

Three of the Aussies' last five final victories were against England, who defeated the powerhouses of women's cricket 2-1 in the ODI and T20 legs of last summer's Ashes series.

Those victories, admittedly on home turf, boosted belief that Heather Knight's side can compete with the best team in the world and the Australia-England final looks an appealing ante-post bet.

Both sides are favourites to win their groups although the Aussies face a trappy section containing India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

England's bowling attack looks well suited to conditions in Sharjah and Dubai with fast bowler Lauren Bell in fine form and Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Charlie Dean and Linsey Smith offering a variety of spin options.

Knight, Danni Wyatt and Nat Sciver-Brunt form an experienced core to the top order with youngsters Alice Capsey and Freya Kemp capable of batting fireworks.

Capsey scored a matchwinning 46 off 23 balls in last summer's Ashes T20 decider at Lord's and showed her maturity with a patient unbeaten 67 at Canterbury in England's 5-0 clean sweep of New Zealand in July.

The 20-year-old number three is increasingly consistent in T20 cricket, top-scoring with 40 in last week's warm-up defeat to Australia, and she looks set for a memorable tournament.

The betting suggests England will face India in the semi-finals but qualifying from Group A is hardly an open goal for Harmanpreet Kaur's side, who lost to Sri Lanka by eight wickets in August's Asia Cup final.

The Lankans, captained by ace all-rounder Chamari Athapaththu, have made significant progress in the shortest format, claiming 2-1 series wins away to England and South Africa in the past 12 months.

They won all six of their games at May's ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE, cruised to a target of 167 against a full-strength India side in the Asia Cup final and are worth backing to make the semis.

Women's T20 World Cup format

Group A: Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

Group B: England, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh, Scotland

Semi-finals: October 17 – Group A winners vs Group B runners-up; October 18 – Group B winners vs Group A runners-up

Final: October 20 – Dubai International Cricket Stadium

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