World Cup 1978: Margaret Jennings

1978 World Cup, India

Australia (3 wins, 0 losses, 6 points) topped the points table (no final played)

Only Australia, New Zealand, England and India took part in the 1978 World Cup, with no final held. But with Australia and England heading into the last match locked on four points apiece, the clash in Hyderabad became a de facto final, which Australia won by eight wickets.

Scores: England 8-96 (Tredrea 4-25) in 50 overs were defeated by Australia 2-100 (Jennings 57no) in 31.3 overs

Australia triumphed in the second edition of the World Cup in 1978

Australia captain Margaret Jennings:

“The 1978 World Cup was a bit of a mix up, India was totally disorganised plus a couple of teams pulled out so it meant only New Zealand, ourselves, England and India played.

We started off with New Zealand which was a hard game, as always, but we managed and from there we played India.

The final came against England and we won the toss. It was a green, green wicket and Sharon Tredrea did particularly well and cleaned them up and we only chased 90-odd, so it was a good win.

It’s the highest achievement you can get, so to do that was very special.”

World Cup 1982: Sharon Tredrea

1982 World Cup, New Zealand

Australia advanced through the group stage of the tournament undefeated, winning 11 matches and tying with England. Taking on England in the final, the Australians claimed a three-wicket win with an over to spare.

Scores: England 5-151 (Fullston 2-20) in 60 overs lost to Australia 7-152 (Jacobs 37) in 59 overs

That's two in a row: 1982

Australia captain Sharon Tredrea:

“It was a re-vamped type of competition, the first one where they had a final.

We had to go through a process of 12 preliminary games … it was a long tournament and we were there for quite a while.

We ended up playing England in the final which was bit of a surprise because we thought we’d play New Zealand who seemed to be the form team throughout the tournament.

(Winning) was more of a relief than anything, there was a lot of expectation on us. We had a revamped team from the previous World Cup and a lot of new faces ... but everyone gelled well, it was a good team on and off the field.”

World Cup 1988: Lyn Larsen

1988 World Cup, Australia

Australia finished on top of the points table after the group stage, having dropped just one of eight matches. Taking on England in the final – once again – Australia emerged triumphant, with an eight-wicket win at the MCG sealing back-to-back titles.

Scores: England 7-127 (Larsen 2-22) in 60 overs lost to Australia 2-129 (Reeler 59no) in 44.5 overs

1988 made it a three-peat for Australia

Australia captain Lyn Larsen:

“The 1988 tournament was a bit smaller than most with just five teams in it – Australia, England, Ireland, Netherlands and New Zealand.

We had a hiccup on the way to the final, we’d had good victories over the Netherlands and Ireland and beaten New Zealand, but we stumbled against England.

We played pretty badly chasing a total should have been getable. But sometimes a loss isn’t a bad thing and we probably went into final a bit better prepared.

We had to chase again but they only scored 127. We took a long time to get the runs ourselves but it was a great victory and something we were all pretty ecstatic about.”

World Cup 1997: Belinda Clark

1997 World Cup, India

In a tournament that saw Australia captain Belinda Clark score the first ever ODI double ton – posting 229no against Denmark in Mumbai – she also captained her team through the tournament without dropping a game. After clinching a spot in the final courtesy of a nail-biting 19-run win over India, a strong bowling performance followed by a half-century from Clark secured a five-wicket win in front of an enormous crowd at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

Scores: New Zealand 164 (Calver 2-29) in 49.3 overs lost to Australia 5-165 (Clark 52) in 47.4 overs

The magical mystery tour of India ended with a trophy // Getty

Australia captain Belinda Clark:

“A lot of players hadn’t travelled to India before, so it was a really exciting period for the team. It was a young team and we ended up on a magical mystery tour of india, travelling to most parts. It was a great opportunity for us to see the country in such a big event.

I distinctly remember standing on the field in the semi-final against India in Delhi with the game not going in the direction we wanted it to go, thinking ‘I do not want to sit in the grandstand to watch another World Cup final’.

But that game turned around for us into a great win and we ended up playing in front of 70,000 people in Kolkata against New Zealand. It’s one of my fondest memories of being involved in the sport.”

World Cup 2005: Belinda Clark

2005 World Cup, South Africa

Australia advanced undefeated through the group stage, winning five games while two others were washed out. Taking on England in the semi-final, Cathryn Fitzpatrick’s 3-27 and Belinda Clark’s 62 sealed a five-wicket win, setting up a final against India, where a century from Karen Rolton set the stage for a 98-run victory.

Scores: Australia 4-215 (Rolton 107no) in 50 overs defeated India 117 (Nitschke 2-14) in 46 overs

Victory in South Africa // Getty

Australia captain Belinda Clark:

“We were smarting after our loss to New Zealand in the 2000 World Cup, which is the one that got away.

It was an opportunity for us to stamp some domination. We started against our arch rivals England and that game was washed out midway through, which was a really disappointing start to our tournament. But we ended up going through undefeated and found ourselves in another tight semi-final, then on to a final against India.

India had emerged in a World Cup final for the first time in quite some time. It was a great game, Karen Rolton was wonderful with a hundred and that got us over the line, which was a great thrill for everyone.”

World Cup 2013: Jodie Fields

2013 World Cup, India

Australia won their three group matches and despite dropping a Super Sixes game to West Indies, finished second on the table to earn a place in the final alongside their Caribbean rivals. There, a stunning effort from an injured Ellyse Perry tore the heart out of the Windies’ batting line-up, sealing a big win.

Scores: Australia 7-259 (Cameron 75) in 50 overs defeated West Indies 145 (Perry 3-19) in 43.1 overs

No.6 in 2013 // Getty

Australia captain Jodie Fields:

“The 2013 tournament went really well. We were probably under pressure to win that tournament but at the same time, it was a good opportunity to win two (world events) close together after the 2012 T20 World Cup.

The team played strong cricket and leading into the final against West Indies, we were strong favourites, but we had to play good cricket on the day to win that final.

“When we won the final it was such a great experience. In that match we had Ellyse Perry with her (ankle) injury who came through and bowled well, the whole team was fired up and to win my second event as captain was a very special moment.”

Women's World Cup 2017 Guide

Australia World Cup squad: Sarah Aley, Kristen Beams, Alex Blackwell (vc), Nicole Bolton, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Meg Lanning (c), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Squads: Every World Cup squad named so far

Australia's World Cup schedule

View the full tournament schedule here

Warm-up matches

June 20: Australia v South Africa, Oakham

June 22: Australia v Pakistan, Leicester

Tournament

June 26: Australia v West Indies, Taunton

June 29: Australia v Sri Lanka, Bristol

July 2: Australia v New Zealand, Bristol

July 5: Australia v Pakistan, Leicester

July 9: Australia v England, Bristol

July 12: Australia v India, Bristol

July 15: Australia v South Africa, Taunton

July 18: First semi-final, Bristol

July 20: Second semi-final, Derby

July 23: Final, Lord's