WCPL 2026 Schedule, Venues, Teams & Full Guide
The Women’s Caribbean Premier League returns in September 2026 for its fifth and most ambitious edition yet — four teams, a reimagined format, a single iconic venue, and a brand-new franchise making its tournament debut. Here is everything you need to know.
The Women’s Caribbean Premier League 2026 runs from September 5–17 entirely at Kensington Oval, Barbados, featuring eight matches. Jamaica Empress join the competition as a brand-new fourth franchise — the first expansion since the WCPL’s founding in 2022.
Barbados Tridents (formerly Barbados Royals) enter as three-time defending champions, having won the title in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Trinbago Knight Riders are the only other side with a title, having won the inaugural 2022 edition. The WCPL has confirmed international expansion plans for 2027, with franchises from outside the Caribbean set to be welcomed.
Tournament Overview
The Women’s Caribbean Premier League 2026 will be played from September 5 to 17, with all matches taking place in Barbados. Eight matches will be staged at the iconic Kensington Oval. The tournament is organised by Cricket West Indies and represents the fifth edition of a competition that has grown steadily since its 2022 launch.
The 2026 edition has been rebuilt from the ground up, launching a new creative identity under the platform “She’s In” — centred on three core values: empowerment, the will to win, and community.
WCPL 2026 Full Match Schedule
Each team will face the other three sides once during the round-robin stage. The team finishing top of the table advances directly to the final, where they will meet the winner of a playoff between the second and third-placed sides.
| Date | Match | Time (Local) |
|---|---|---|
| September 5 | Barbados Tridents vs Trinbago Knight Riders | 3:00 PM |
| September 6 | Jamaica Empress vs Guyana Amazon Warriors | 2:00 PM |
| September 10 | Trinbago Knight Riders vs Jamaica Empress | 10:00 AM |
| September 12 | Trinbago Knight Riders vs Guyana Amazon Warriors | 10:00 AM |
| September 12 | Barbados Tridents vs Jamaica Empress | 3:00 PM |
| September 13 | Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Barbados Tridents | 2:00 PM |
| September 16 | Playoff — 2nd vs 3rd | 10:00 AM |
| September 17 | Final — 1st vs Playoff Winner | 2:00 PM |
All times are local Barbados time (AST, UTC-4). Viewers in the UK should subtract four hours from these times; viewers in India (IST) should add 9.5 hours.
Venue: Kensington Oval, Barbados
All eight WCPL 2026 matches will be played at Kensington Oval in Barbados, with the tournament structured as a concentrated ten-day festival of cricket.
Kensington Oval is one of cricket’s most storied grounds. Located in Bridgetown, it has hosted Test cricket since 1930 and is widely considered among the most atmospheric venues in the Caribbean. With a capacity of around 28,000, it provides the WCPL with a stage that matches the tournament’s growing ambitions.
Concentrating all matches at a single venue is a deliberate strategic choice. It allows the tournament to build momentum and atmosphere across the festival, giving fans in Barbados the chance to attend multiple matches during the fortnight rather than following cricket scattered across different islands.
The Four Teams
Barbados Tridents — The Three-Time Defending Champions
The Barbados Tridents enter the 2026 WCPL as three-time defending champions, having swept up a hat-trick of titles in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Previously known as the Barbados Royals, the franchise rebranded ahead of 2026.
The team is captained by Hayley Matthews, one of the Caribbean’s most complete all-round cricketers. Matthews, a hard-hitting top-order batter and off-spin bowler, has been a central figure in all three title campaigns and is widely regarded as one of the best women’s T20 players in the world.
The Tridents begin their title defence on September 5 against Trinbago Knight Riders — the same side they beat to win the inaugural final’s predecessor competition. If history is any guide, Barbados will be extremely difficult to stop in 2026. No team has won four consecutive WCPL titles — but no team has had the consistency the Tridents have shown.
Key player to watch: Hayley Matthews — runs, wickets, and leadership in one package.
Trinbago Knight Riders — The Inaugural Champions Seeking a Return
Trinbago Knight Riders won the inaugural WCPL edition in 2022 and are captained by Deandra Dottin. Dottin is one of the most explosive batters in the women’s T20 game — a six-hitter capable of single-handedly changing a match — and her presence at the top of the order gives TKR a genuine match-winning threat.
The Knight Riders have reached the finals stage in previous seasons but have not been able to match Barbados in the title-deciding moments. In 2026, with a concentrated festival format levelling the playing field, TKR will fancy their chances. Their campaign opens against the defending champions on day one — a statement fixture that will immediately set the tone.
Key player to watch: Deandra Dottin — power hitting that no bowling attack can afford to underestimate.
Guyana Amazon Warriors — Consistent Finals Contenders
The Guyana Amazon Warriors reached the 2025 WCPL Final, where they fell short against the Tridents in a nail-biting finish. The Warriors have been consistent contenders throughout the competition’s history without yet claiming a title — a record that makes them one of the tournament’s most compelling storylines heading into 2026.
Stafanie Taylor is a longstanding cornerstone of the Warriors’ batting lineup, bringing international experience and an ability to anchor an innings that few players in the Caribbean can match. The Warriors make their 2026 debut against a new franchise, Jamaica Empress, on September 6 — a fixture that will tell us much about where both teams stand early in the campaign.
Key player to watch: Stafanie Taylor — experience, composure, and class at the highest level.
Jamaica Empress — The Historic New Franchise
Jamaica Empress will join the three existing franchises as an entirely new team, competing in the WCPL for the first time in the competition’s history. The franchise was created to represent Jamaica and reflects the tournament’s expanding commitment to celebrating female excellence across the Caribbean.
Jamaica is a nation with an outsized sporting identity — and one that has produced cricketers of the highest calibre across generations. The creation of the Jamaica Empress is recognition that Jamaica’s women’s cricketers deserve a professional franchise platform, and it signals that the WCPL is thinking seriously about geographic coverage.
The Empress make their debut on September 6 against Guyana Amazon Warriors. With no previous data to draw on, they go into the tournament as unknowns — which in a three-match round-robin format can be as much of an advantage as a vulnerability.
Key player to watch: TBC — the Empress squad has yet to be announced, making their debut all the more intriguing.
Tournament Format
The 2026 WCPL uses a straightforward round-robin followed by a two-stage knockout:
League Phase (September 5–13): Each of the four teams plays each other once, for a total of six matches. Two points for a win, zero for a loss. Net run rate separates teams level on points.
Playoff (September 16): The teams finishing second and third in the league table meet. The winner progresses to the final.
Final (September 17): The league table winner takes on the playoff winner.
This means the top-placed team after the round-robin earns a direct path to the final, giving every league match significance — particularly for the team sitting first with one round remaining, who can secure that safety net with a victory.
Historical Context: How the WCPL Has Grown
The Women’s Caribbean Premier League was launched in 2022 with three teams — Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, and Trinbago Knight Riders — each aligned with a men’s CPL franchise of the same name.
Trinbago Knight Riders won the first title in 2022, before Barbados took over and has been dominant ever since. Defending champions Barbados Tridents are now chasing an unprecedented fourth consecutive title.
The competition has operated with three teams across its first four years, meaning the addition of Jamaica Empress in 2026 is the single most significant structural change the WCPL has ever made. Since its inception, the tournament had featured only three teams, with each side playing a limited number of matches before advancing to the final. The expanded round-robin in 2026 gives every team more cricket to play and more opportunities for fans to watch.
Matchday Experience: More Than Just Cricket
The WCPL has designed each matchday in 2026 as a community festival, with children’s activity zones, cricket skills sessions, health and wellness checks, and a dedicated space for female entrepreneurs from across the Caribbean to showcase their businesses.
WCPL CEO Pete Russell described the tournament as a platform where women can be celebrated, communities can come together, and young girls can see clear pathways to success in sport and beyond.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews, speaking in her dual role as player and ambassador, noted that the WCPL has already demonstrated its power and far-reaching impact across the region, giving girls visibility and something to believe in.
What Comes After 2026?
The WCPL has revealed plans to expand beyond the Caribbean from 2027 onward, potentially welcoming international franchises and transforming the competition into a global women’s T20 league. If that vision is realised, the 2026 season — with its four Caribbean franchises playing a concentrated festival in Barbados — may be remembered as the last chapter of the WCPL’s exclusively Caribbean era.
For now, though, the focus is on September. Eight matches. Four teams. One venue. And one title that Barbados Tridents have made their own — but which three determined challengers are determined to take from them.
The WCPL 2026 is the most complete edition of the tournament since its founding, combining an expanded four-team field, a concentrated ten-day festival format at Kensington Oval, and a new franchise in Jamaica Empress, making history from day one. Defending champions Barbados Tridents face their toughest test yet as they chase a fourth straight title, with Trinbago Knight Riders, Guyana Amazon Warriors, and the unpredictable new Jamaica Empress all standing in their way. The action begins September 5 — and with global expansion on the horizon for 2027, the stakes have never been higher.
