Women's World Cup 2017

Chances of Success Rating : 5.8/10 (5th) Although women's cricket held quite a strong foothold in South Africa during the 1960s and 70s, it was not until well after the end of the sporting boycott in the 1990s that South Africa competed in their first World Cup - in India in 1997. Four years later, in 2000 (yes... the 2001 World Cup was actually held in December 2000 in New Zealand) they reached the semi-finals after a group-stage victory over England; but it proved to be something of a false-dawn, and the next three tournaments all ended in early baths for the South Africans. The four years since their 6th-placed performance in 2013 have been transformational however, as a new sponsorship deal with financial services giant Momentum has allowed them to build a core professional setup which has propelled them into an expanded top tier of the women's game - no longer minnows, but genuinely competitive with all the top sides, recording ODI victories against all but Austr