Who were the Top Performers in the just-concluded Women’s T20 World Cup 2023

Top Performers of Women’s T20 World Cup 2023

Top Performers of WT20 WC 2023: It did make sense, a lot of it really speaking, when Sune Luus, the captain of the runner’s up of the T20 World Cup 2023 stated that this is the time to sit in the boat of women’s cricket and get set on a memorable voyage.

The mega ICC event unfurled a lot of dazzling performances with remarkable showings in each department of the game, but who were the top performers who’ve already made 2023 the year of Women’s Cricket?

Nat Sciver

Inarguably speaking, one of the greatest white-ball all-rounders that the Women’s game has ever produced, Nat Sciver was the embodiment of English excellence in this recent T20 World Cup.

Nearly flawless and ceaselessly hungry perhaps every time she came out to bat, Nat Sciver batted with a sense of magnanimity about her in this T20 World Cup.

Her success was magnified by the fact that in five of the contests in which she batted, she either touched or went beyond the score of 40 on four separate occasions.

Not only did she score two vital and matchwinning fifties, one each against Ireland and India, she even remained not out in 2 of the 5 outings with the bat, getting out for a single-digit score on just a solitary occasion.

But what truly exemplifies Sciver’s success is her intrepid hunger to collect runs nearly every single time she comes out to bat for her England.

Beth Mooney

She scored a fifty in the Commonwealth Games match for the gold medal. She scored a fifty in the last edition of the Women’s ODI World Cup that took place in New Zealand.

If that’ not enough, then it’s wise to recollect that Beth Mooney, who just scored an unbeaten 74 the other evening also scored an unbeaten fifty in the previous T20 World cup edition, which had taken place in her home territory Australia.

A figure of poise and sheer class, Mooney was just brilliant for Australia in this recently-concluded event. That’s when the famous left-hander had managed scores of 0 and 2 in the first two games of this T20 Women’s World Cup.

Talk about comebacks and starring in a grand cause for one’s team!

Muneeba Ali

What’s rather interesting and baffling somewhat at the same time is that the only T20I century of this edition of the women’s world cup came from the bat of the often underrated batter of Pakistan: Muneeba Ali.

In producing a free stroking and whirlwind 102 against Ireland, her first T20I ton, Muneeba Ali helped Pakistan put a mountain of runs on the board and seemed in fine touch all throughout that knock.

An excellent player of spin and someone who’s unafraid about stepping down to the bowlers, Muneeba Ali is a brave young find for the sub-continental force.

It’s such a shame that despite spurts of brilliance throughout this World Cup, Pakistan couldn’t take the longer route and reach the deep end of the mega ICC event.

Ash Gardner

One of the most widely-watched and impressive sights in this Women’s T20 World Cup was the rise of Ash Gardner the spinner, not just the big hitter who can be flexible and accommodated at just about anywhere in the Australian pecking order.

The key to Gardner’s success was that like most good and thinking spinners, the off spinner was unafraid to toss up the ball and got most of her wickets by bowling straight and tempting the batters into manufacturing strokes when perhaps they were better off guarding their wicket.

Gardner even opened the attack in a few of her side’s games, such as the vital contest against India where she got the big fish, Smriti Mandhana out cheaply.

But that wasn’t the only game changing effort by the 25-year-old Aussie; in the most exciting contest against the Proteas women, Gardner the batter took over the big stage and hammered two big sixes off Nadine de Klerk.

That set the tempo to the Australian batting, which ultimately enabled the side to put up what eventually turned out to be a winning score.

Rightly awarded the player-of-the-tournament, Gardner is now turning into a player for all series for her Australia women.

Shabnim Ismail

At 34, Shabnim Ismail is not getting any younger in the sport that she’s made famous with her fast bowling exploits. But then at the same time, she isn’t showing any hint of dropping any pace or those extra quick yards.

It was hardly a surprise but a rather fascinating outcome that the fastest delivery of the recently-concluded T20 World Cup came at the behest of the world-beating Protea speedster; Ismail bowled one that clocked 128 kmph in this mega tournament.

Even as the Proteas women weren’t able to get over the line in the much-anticipated final against Meg Lanning’s champion side, Ismail kept up the ante of the attack and kept her South African side in the contest constantly.

Picking 8 wickets from 6 games, Shabnim Ismail bowled a vital spell of 2 for 26 in the last game of this World Cup, wherein her timely dismissals of Ellyse Perry and Georgia Wareham perhaps restricted the Aussies from putting up an extra 10 to 12 on the board where it came to the final total.

What’s more? Besides bowling a maiden over when Beth Mooney was on strike the previous evening, the only occasion where the right arm express pacer didn’t pick a wicket was that contest against Australia when South Africa played them earlier.

Hayley Matthews

Where it came to the West Indies batting in this particular World Cup, then the equation from the opponent’s perspective seemed pretty simple:

It was Hayley Matthews vs West Indies’ opponents.

Brave and daring, and expressing herself freely, Matthews was right on the money from the first ball of her Windies Women’s World Cup campaign, scoring a fancy and quickfire 42 with the bat against England.

Someone who was particularly strong on the off side, Matthews looked just as much at ease in playing her beautiful strokes through to the on side as well.

Whether it was her 42 or the 66*, the match winning knock that came in that nervous but successful chase against Pakistan, Hayley Matthews shone brightly in a side where much of the West Indian run-scoring rested on her able shoulders.

You ought to wonder about the what might; imagine what may have happened had the others, such as Campbelle, Nation and Williams or Henry made more runs than they managed?

Besides, the West Indies captain also captured 4 important wickets in this tournament.

Laura Wolvaardt

In modern day cricket, among the most frequently debated questions is whether it’s Virat Kohli or Babar Azam who scores the most gorgeous cover drive.

But if we were to add a context of diversity and inclusivity in this question, then perhaps it would make more sense to discuss whether it’s Proteas women’s Laura Wolvaardt who scores the most admirable cover drive.

A sheer artist with the bat, one who scores strikingly good looking runs square on the off side, Wolvaardt was the epitome of the Proteas excellence in this world cup. 

It was hardly surprising that it were she who was responsible for scoring the most runs in this Women’s T20 World Cup, scoring 230 of those and with sheer class.

In fact, one wonders whether all that the South African women managed in the end would have been possible had the right hander not scored 61 on her own?

As a matter of factly, each of the last three innings of Wolvaardt culminated in a half-century.

Richa Ghosh

It may not have occurred to a lot of us, but truth be told, India’s Richa Ghosh had quite a memorable World cup campaign.

Considering the fact that she was just playing her second T20 Women’s world Cup- her first being the 2020 edition- and is yet to turn 20, Richa Ghosh presided over a campaign that warrants greater respect than one may realise.

Before her last two outings with the bat yielded lowly returns of 14 and nought, Richa Ghosh emerged unbeaten in each of the three outings against England, West Indies and Pakistan.

But it was the magical game against arch-rivals Pakistan where Richa Ghosh’s vital and timely knock of 31 came in a successful run chase that catapulted her to global headlines.

With Jemimah Rodriguez playing the anchor in India’s tournament opener, it was Richa Ghosh’s powerful hitting that came in handy for a winning cause.

With age on her side, India’s vital lower order batter-keeper has much time to mould her Cricket into a successful cause for what is an elite Cricketing side.

So how’s that?

Tazmin Brits

Frankly speaking, the T20 Women’s World Cup of 2023 was an important event and perhaps a breakthrough at that for South Africa’s Tazmin Brits.

It’s such a shame that the capable and big hitting right hander wasn’t able to go beyond 10 in the big final contest versus Australia. 

But if there was a knock that truly catapulted Brits to the attention of the wider world, then it was the sensational effort of 68 against England that snubbed an old rival of her Protea unit.

Not someone whom you’d consider as a massive user of the footwork, if the ball’s in her arc or in the slot, then Tazmin Brits, unfailingly, goes big.

Her emergence as the quick accumulator of runs up top the order proved to be a catchy headline for a side for which it’s usually a Kapp, Luus or Wolvaardt who are responsible for scoring big runs.

There’s no reason why Tazmin Brits shouldn’t derive confidence from a successful campaign and get ready to etch the next chapter in her exciting Proteas career.