Women's squads confirmed for ICC World Twenty20 2010

Semi-finals and final to run as double-headers with men's section

All eight women's squads for the ICC World Twenty20 2010 have now been confirmed with the very best players in the world all getting ready for the big event, which gets underway in the West Indies later this month.

The group stages of the women's element of the tournament will take place in St Kitts with the semi-finals happening in St Lucia and the final being staged in Barbados. The knock-out matches will all feature as double-headers with the men's equivalents just as they did in England last year.

Charlotte Edwards will lead defending champion England and will want to lift the trophy again as she did at home last year. Having also won the ICC Women's World Cup 2009 in Australia, England will be anxious to claim a third world title on as many continents.

To help Edwards along that path, there are some new faces in the England squad as well as some of the old guard. Claire Taylor, who was player of the 2009 tournament as well as winning the Women's Cricketer of the Year at the LG ICC Awards last year, returns after missing the tour of India, as does Holly Colvin, but the experienced Isa Guha and Caroline Atkins have not been included.

There is room, however, for youngsters such as Anya Shrubsole (18), Danielle Wyatt (18), Heather Knight (19) and Danielle Hazell (21) as England pick a squad with one eye on the future.

Beaten finalist at the 2009 event New Zealand has a familiar took to it with Aimee Watkins again leading the way. She will be supported ably by Amy Satterthwaite, Suzie Bates, Lucy Doolan and Nicola Browne who, although all still young, have already managed to gather plenty of experience at international level.

The home team, West Indies, will be difficult to beat especially if Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin can fire with the bat. The squad includes three new faces from last year's tournament in England with batter Britney Cooper, seam bowler Shemaine Campbelle and all-rounder Tremayne Smartt being given the chance to impress.

The other two main contenders for top honours will be Australia and India and both have announced strong squads for the trip to the Caribbean. Australia will be led by Jodie Fields with Alex Blackwell, Lisa Sthalekar and Shelley Nitschke being the players to watch.

Jhulan Goswami will again captain Team India in a familiar-looking side that contains such experienced players as Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra.

The action gets underway in St Kitts on 5 May with the final taking place in Kensington Oval, Barbados on 16 May. All the women's squads are listed below while the men's squads were announced last week. For more information about the ICC World Twenty20 2010 go to www.icc-cricket.com.

Women's squads

Australia: Jodie Fields (captain), Alex Blackwell, Jessica Cameron, Sarah Elliott, Rene Farrell, Rachael Haynes, Julie Hunter, Shelley Nitschke, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Leah Poulton, Clea Smith, Lisa Sthalekar, Elyse Villani.

England: Charlotte Edwards (captain), Katherine Brunt, Holly Colvin, Lydia Greenway, Jenny Gunn, Danielle Hazell, Heather Knight, Laura Marsh, Beth Morgan, Nicola Shaw, Anya Shrubsole, Claire Taylor, Sarah Taylor, Danielle Wyatt.

India: Jhulan Goswami (captain), Mithali Raj, Poonam Raut, Sulakshana Naik, Anagha Deshpande, Rumeli Dhar, Amita Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Reema Malhotra, Diana David, Gouhar Sultana, Soniya Dabir, Priyanka Roy, Anjum Chopra.

New Zealand: Aimee Watkins (captain), Amy Satterthwaite, Suzie Bates, Erin Bermingham, Kate Broadmore, Nicola Browne, Sophie Devine, Natalie Dodd, Lucy Doolan, Maria Fahey, Sara McGlashan, Liz Perry, Rachel Priest, Sian Ruck.

Pakistan: Sana Mir (captain), Nain Abidi, Armaan Khan, Batool Fatima, Asmavia Iqbal, Bismah Maroof, Qanita Jalil, Urooj Mumtaz Khan, Javeria Wadood, Sajida Shah, Nida Rashid, Sania Khan, Sadia Yousaf, Rabia Shah.

South Africa: Cri-Zelda Brits (capt), Susan Benade, Trisha Chetty, Mignon du Preez, Shandre Fritz, Shabnim Ismail, Ashlyn Kilowan, Marcia Letsoalo, Sunette Loubser, Alicia Smith, Angelique Taai, Chloe Tryon, Charlize van der Westhuizen, Dane van Niekerk.

Sri Lanka: Chamani Seneviratne (captain), Dilani Manodara, Inoka Galagedara, Shashikala Siriwardene, Dedunu Silva, Suvini de Alwis, Chamari Atapattu, Ehsani Kaushalya, Sandamali Dolawatta, Sripali Weerakkody, Udeshika Prabodhani, Deepika Rasangika, Hiruka Fernando, Chandi Wickramasinghe.

West Indies: Merissa Aguilleira (captain), Kirbyina Alexander, Shemaine Campbelle, Britney Cooper, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Cordel Jack, Stacy-Ann King, Pamela Lavine, Anisa Mohammed, Juliana Nero, Shakera Selman, Tremayne Smartt, Stafanie Taylor.