Teams, time: South Africa vs New Zealand – Women’s T20 World Cup final

There will be a new name on the Women’s T20 World Cup as the Proteas and the White Ferns vie to become 2024 champions.

Who: South Africa vs New Zealand
What: Final, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024
When: Sunday, October 20, 6pm (14:00 GMT)
Where: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
How to follow: Al Jazeera’s live text coverage begins at 10:30 GMT

Whatever the result in Dubai on Sunday, there will be a new name on the trophy when New Zealand line up against South Africa in the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup.

Australia’s dominance over the years, winning six of the eight previous tournaments, has restricted the opportunities for anyone else. Only England, in the inaugural tournament of 2009, and West Indies in 2016 have seen them off. The Australians have also appeared in seven of the eight finals – not to be this time after South Africa’s dominant semifinal victory on Thursday.

It promises to be a fitting finale to a competition that has produced some excellent – and some middling – cricket after it was switched at short notice to the United Arab Emirates following political unrest in Bangladesh where it was due to take place.

Apart from bringing new interest to the women’s game, Sunday’s final will also pit the two sides that have played the canniest and most courageous cricket during the competition. Unlike others, they have also largely held their catches, although the White Ferns did make life more awkward for themselves in their semifinal win against the West Indies by dropping Deandra Dottin twice. Not many teams get away with that.

After making just 128-9, which even on a slow Sharjah pitch felt 10 to 15 runs short, the Kiwis defended that total superbly against a batting lineup which, as