2025 Cricket World Cup - what you need to know

The cricket World Cup starts today, 30 September 2025, hosted in India and Sri Lanka!

Here’s what you need to know…

Teams

There are eight teams in the cricket World Cup: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

As there are only eight teams, there are no group stages. Each country will play the other seven in a One Day International (ODI) format.

What is a One Day International format?

In the ODI format, each team bowls 50 overs. There are six bowls per over so that’s 300 bowls in total. This is a quicker format than a 5 Day test but not as fast paced as a T 20 match (20 overs so 120 balls). It means that matches can be completed within a day, providing fast results and helping the tournament keep progressing.

Who is the favourite to win?

Australia are defending champions and favourites to win due to their past success - they’ve won the title seven times (England have won it four times and New Zealand have won it once.) India and England are ones to watch too - India for their home advantage. Cricket is the biggest sport in India so they should receive huge support!

What’s the prize?

The Cricket World Cup trophy is one thing but the prize money is another. For this championship, total prize money has increased a whopping 297% and is now $13.88 million. This is a huge statement in favour of women’s cricket.

Key dates

Starts 30 September 2025 with the final on 2 November 2025.

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