Team preview: Australia

The most dominant team in the history of the competition, having won the tournament in 2010, 2012 and 2014, Australia boast of the likes of powerful batters like captain Meg Lanning, vice-captain Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry, who recently played her 100th one-day international.

Around them will bat Nicole Bolton, Elyse Villani, Ashleigh Gardner and Nicola Carey, making it a formidable line-up.

Lanning is the fourth-highest T20I run-scorer of all time and scores her runs at 118.61. Villani too strikes at 118.73 and Healy at 117.66, showing the Australia have in their midst power hitters who meet the demand of the modern-day T20 game where 200-plus totals on helpful surfaces can be chased down.

Their bowling too is strong, with the second-highest wicket-taker in the women's T20I game, Perry, their star with 90 wickets at 20.07 and a good economy rate of 5.92. Megan Schutt, the top bowler in the MRF Tyres ICC Women's T20I Rankings, takes her wickets at 23.11 and has an even better economy rate of 4.35.

Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham complete a well-rounded bowling attack. Overall, Australia know how to win a big tournament, and have players who have already won the World T20 in the past.

They will face direct competition in the group stage from New Zealand, who are ranked second to Australia's No.1, while India and Pakistan, the Asian giants will also be formidable oppositions.

Strengths

Australia's strength lies in their batting. Two of Australia's highest innings totals in T20Is have come this year – 209/4 against England in Mumbai in March and 195/3 against Pakistan in Kuala Lumpur in October – and both those games resulted in victories for them.

Australia boast of a power-packed batting line-up capable of tearing into any bowling attack in the world, and have the Schutt-led bowling attack to back up the batters.

They're also in good form, having recently swept New Zealand 3-0 in a three-match T20I series and Pakistan by the same margin in ODIs and T20Is.

Weaknesses

While they are a batting powerhouse, the bowling, despite the presence of Perry and Schutt, looks a little short on experience. Kimmince, Molineux and Wareham have played only 31 T20Is between them and should the pressure fall on them in case Perry, Schutt or the experienced left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen are having an off day, things could get tricky.

Australia also have the 19-year-old fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck in their midst, who is yet to make her T20I debut. Having played only one ODI, the pressure of playing in a big tournament could tell on the teenager.

History at the Women's World T20

Australia beat New Zealand in the final of the 2010 edition of the tournament to win their first title and then went on to beat England twice – in 2012 and 2014 – to complete a hat-trick of title victories. They could have made it four in four but the Windies beat them in the 2016 final.

Recent form in T20Is

W W W W W W W W W L (most recent first)

Australia have been on a roll this year, first trumping England and India to win the triangular in India, and then blanking New Zealand Pakistan 3-0 in their bilateral series. They have chugged along beautifully, and will certainly be the team to beat in the West Indies.

Fixtures9 Nov: v Pakistan
11 Nov: v Ireland
13 Nov: v New Zealand
17 Nov: v India

**Squad:**Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes, Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham