The eventual victors were the 2010 champions Australia, who beat pre-tournament favourites[2]England by four runs in the final, a match which came down to the final ball.[3] England captain Charlotte Edwards blamed this defeat on a "lack of discipline" in her side,[4] whilst Test Match Special analyst Ebony Rainford-Brent cited underachieving bowlers and England's inability to rotate the strike.[4]
With a total of 172 runs (an average of 43 per game), Edwards was named player of the tournament.[5]
Format
The format of the competition is effectively identical to that of the super-eight and knock-out stages of the men's tournament.
Following warm-up matches, the teams were divided into two groups where matches were played in a round-robin format.
The two best placed teams from each group progressed to the two-round knock-out stage, whilst the eliminated teams played each other for qualification for the 2014 tournament.
Venues
All matches were played at the following two grounds:
Australia Women won the 2012 ICC Women's World Twenty20 and England Women are runner-up as a result of this match.
Statistics
The tables below show the top five holders for each class of record. If the fifth place is shared then all holders are shown. These statistics can be sourced and verified from the Cricinfo Women's World T20 statictics page