A quick recap; unarguably, the 2010s marked a great watershed moment for women’s cricket. The decade witnessed 1237 international women players, a radical departure from the 486 international players of the preceding decade.
That’s not all, in the 2000s 662 women cricketers debuted for their countries while the 2010s witnessed 1435 players debuting for their countries.
This upward movement in participation in women’s cricket has inspired growth in the tournaments and the volume of spectators. The money on offer has also improved and even as of November of 2020, all the top Nine international teams offer central contracts to their players.
The just-concluded decade also witnessed a ballooning of the women’s cricket fan base and many women international players have become the cynosure of all eyes. Players like Ellyse Perry, Meg Panning, Alyssa Healy, Sara Not, Sophie Devine, Suzie Bales, Stafanie Taylor, Anisa Mohammed, to mention a few, have all become global icons in the sporting world.
There is no doubt that we’re in the golden era of women’s cricket, with lots of room for improvement.
This article will explore the subject of top ten women cricketers in recent history. Without a doubt, there are many remarkable active and retired women cricketers in the world and this makes it difficult to pinpoint the best of the lot. As such, this is not a definitive or exhaustive list. It’s just a well-intentioned attempt at highlighting some of the many outstanding women cricketers in recent history.
1. Ellyse Alexandria Perry (Australia)
She made her debut in the Australian international women’s cricket when she was 16 years old. She is a right-handed, all-rounder player. Her outstanding performance as a player meant she rose through the ranks in no time.
Perry also holds the record of being the youngest player in the Australian cricket team to play in an international match. Last year, 2020, she was the ICC Women Cricketer of the year. The award is another testament to her outstanding capabilities.
2. Sarah Jane Taylor (England)
She is English and she plays on the English Women Team and she serves as the wicket-keeper batsman in the team. She is also known for her classic strikes and drives. She joined the English Team in 2008 and that same year, she became the youngest female player cricketer to score 1000 runs in her international career. In 2013, she also had the privilege of achieving the title of t20 International Female Cricketer of the year.
3. Jhulan Goswami (India)
When you want to think about a genuine all-rounder in women’s cricket, think Jhula Goswami. She captained the Indian Team in the Women’s World Cup. She also has a reputation for being one of the fastest bowlers in the world of women’s Cricket. In testimony to her outstanding talent, Jhula Goswami received the ICC Women Cricketer award in 2007.
4. Katherine Helen Brunt (England)
Katherine Helen Brunt, an English Woman Cricketer, belongs to the list of top women cricketers for many reasons. One of the reasons is the fact that she earned the title of women’s Cricketer of the year twice; both in 2006 and 2010.
She is also known for her signature aggressive style of bowling.
5. Lisa Carprini Sthalekar (Australia)
She’s an Australian woman cricketer of Indian descent. She’s widely regarded as belonging to a club of fine, all-rounder cricketers. She is the first woman cricketer to have achieved the 1000 runs mark along with 100 wicket figures in One Day Internationals.
She retired in 2013 after the Australian Women’s team won the ICC World Cup.
She’s one of the greatest to have played women’s cricket during the last decade.
6. Stafanie Roxann Taylor (West Indies)
Stafanie Roxann Taylor plays for the West Indies’ women cricket team. She’s a right-handed batsman and bowls off-spin. Since she made her debut in 2008, Taylor has represented her team in more than 80 games. A major achievement.
In 2011, Stafanie Roxann Taylor became the first West Indian woman cricketer to be awarded the ICC’s Women’s Cricketer of the year plaque.
7. Mithali Raj (India)
Mithali Raj is an Indian woman cricketer who made her ODI debut in 1999 and made history with amazing scores. In 2002, during her third test, she once again made history when she scored 214, breaking the previous record of highest runs in test innings in women cricket, as held by Karen Holton with 209. One can’t write a sincere piece about women’s cricket in recent history without making honorable mention of Mithali Raj.
8. Meghann Moira Lanning (Australia)
Meghann is an Australian woman cricketer and an opening batsman for her team. Speaking of her achievements in women cricket, she was Australia’s youngest century-maker at the age of 18 years and 288 days. She’s widely acknowledged as one of Australia’s Top Women Cricketers.
9. Shashikala Siriwardene (Sri Lanka)
She captained the Sri Lankan women’s Cricket team and she is also among the top best women. She made her debut in international cricket in 2003 against West Indies. Shashikala is known for her bowling attacks all over the world.
10. Sana Mir (Pakistan)
Sana Mir is the former captain of the Pakistan women team and she makes our list of top women cricketers. While she was still an active cricketer, she was once ranked at the 16th position in the ICC Player Rankings for women.
Wrapping Up
And that, right there, is our list of top ten women cricketers in recent history. If you have a list of your own, don’t hesitate to share it with us in the comment section.
The question is often asked; “what will be the fate of women’s cricket in the 2020’s?” Cricket experts believe the sport will experience explosive growth.
Active players like Shafali Verma (India), Sophie Molineux (Australia), Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Issy Wong (England), Shabika Gajnabi (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Jemimah Rodrigues (India), Tayla Vlaeminck (Australia), Sarah Glenn (England), Nadine de Klerk (South Africa), Radha Yadav (India), Omaima Sohail (Pakistan), Georgia Wareham (Australia) to mention a few, are exciting young talents available today and expected, by cricket experts, to be the women’s cricket stars of the future.
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