Lauren Winfield-Hill has backed South Africa to win the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup, saying she is really fancying them and would not call it an upset if they went all the way.
The former England batter's public call lands ahead of a tournament that already feels loaded for South Africa. They begin in Group B with Australia and India, where only two teams advance to the semi-finals, and their opening campaign will quickly show whether the belief around them is justified.
Winfield-Hill pointed to more than sentiment. South Africa have reached three World Cup finals across formats since 2023, including the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup final at home, the 2024 T20 World Cup final and the 2025 Women's ODI World Cup final, and they have done it with Laura Wolvaardt driving the batting and leadership, Tazmin Brits among their key top-order players, and Marizanne Kapp still giving balance with bat and ball. Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk and Nonkululeko Mlaba have also been part of that run to repeated ICC finals.
That record is why South Africa are being spoken about as serious contenders, even if the trophy cabinet is still empty. Winfield-Hill said the story is in the nearly misses and the old girls getting back together, and she argued that Shabnim Ismail's return strengthens the side significantly. Ismail and Dane van Niekerk have both come back into the mix after retiring from international cricket following the 2023 T20 World Cup, while van Niekerk had not played international cricket since 2021.
There is also a selection question hiding inside the optimism. Winfield-Hill said she did not think van Niekerk automatically adds more than she could disrupt, even as she called her a different addition to Ismail. That debate matters because South Africa's batting has long looked good enough to hurt anyone, but the place where they have most often come up short has been with the ball, and that was the area Winfield-Hill said Ismail could improve most.
South Africa do at least arrive with some momentum. They beat India in a series in the build-up to the tournament, and they will open their Group B campaign knowing the path is unforgiving. Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Netherlands are also in the group, but the margin for error is small when Australia and India are waiting in the same pool. If South Africa are going to turn three straight near-misses into a first major title, the first answer comes before the knockout stage even begins.
