The first World Cup of the new millennium was held in New Zealand in 2000 and resulted in victory for the White Ferns for the first time.
Teams
Eight teams participated in the tournament, down from eleven in the 1997 World Cup.
New Zealand, Australia, England, India, South Africa, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Netherlands
Format
Round robin tournament where each played the other once in 50 over matches. The top four teams met in the final, 1 v 4, 2 v 3. Australia went through undefeated in the group stage, with the other finalists being New Zealand, India and South Africa.
Ladder
| Team | P | W | L | T | NR | NRR | Points |
| Australia | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1.984 | 14 |
| New Zealand | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2.008 | 12 |
| India | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +0.711 | 10 |
| South Africa | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | –0.403 | 8 |
| England | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | +0.440 | 6 |
| Sri Lanka | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | –1.572 | 4 |
| Ireland | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | –0.983 | 2 |
| Netherlands | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | –2.098 | 0 |
Semi Finals
Australia v South Africa
South Africa 180/8 (Linda Olivier 41, Sunette Viljoen 28, Charmaine Mason 3-39, Avril Fahey 2-26) lost to
Australia 181/1 (Lisa Keightley 91*, Belinda Clark 75, Cindy Eksteen 1-39) by 9 wickets
New Zealand v India
India 117 (Purnima Rau 67, Kathryn Ramel 2-12, Clare Nicholson 2-15, Rachel Pullar 2-29) lost to
New Zealand 121/1 (Anna O’Leary 50*, Emily Drumm 50*, Neetu David 1-18)
Final
Australia v New Zealand World Cup Final
Best Performers
Player of the Tournament
Lisa Keightley (Australia)
Best Batters
Dominated by the two teams that played in the final, Australia and New Zealand. Karen Rolton was the only player with a strike rate over 100 which was quite unusual for the time.
| Team | Inns | Runs | Ave | HS | 100s | 50s | SR | |
| Karen Rolton | Aus | 7 | 393 | 131.00 | 154* | 2 | 2 | 106.21 |
| Lisa Keightley | Aus | 8 | 375 | 75.00 | 91* | 0 | 4 | 66.13 |
| Belinda Clark | Aus | 9 | 351 | 58.50 | 91 | 0 | 2 | 71.63 |
| Emily Drumm | NZ | 7 | 339 | 67.80 | 108* | 1 | 2 | 84.11 |
| Anna Smith | NZ | 8 | 308 | 51.33 | 91* | 0 | 3 | 56.51 |
Best Bowlers
As with the batting, dominated by Australia and New Zealand with a lone England player, Clare Taylor – quite a feat given that England finished outside the top four teams. All were pace bowlers, with the exception being the lone spinner Avril Fahey.
| Team | Balls | W | Ave | Best | SR | ER | |
| Charmaine Mason | Aus | 417 | 17 | 10.76 | 3-20 | 24.50 | 2.63 |
| Clare Taylor | Eng | 384 | 14 | 10.85 | 4.25 | 27.40 | 2.37 |
| Avril Fahey | Aus | 270 | 13 | 11.76 | 3-11 | 20.70 | 3.40 |
| Katrina Keenan | NZ | 414 | 12 | 10.66 | 3-16 | 10.66 | 1.85 |
| Cathryn Fitzpatrick | Aus | 508 | 11 | 26.09 | 3-22 | 46.10 | 3.38 |
Best Wicket Keepers
Five of the best to have ever represented their country in ODIs and upon retirement each had the highest number of dismissals for their country. Rolls, Price and Jain still hold that position for their country in 2021, so the wicket keeping in this tournament was of the highest standard.
| Team | Matches | Catches | Stumpings | Dismissals | |
| Rebecca Rolls | NZ | 8 | 9 | 4 | 13 |
| Julia Price | Aus | 9 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| Jane Smit | Eng | 7 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Daleen Terblanche | SA | 8 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Anju Jain | Ind | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 |