With the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February, the first Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India, and the biggest ever Women’s Ashes series, we’ve not been short of drama in women’s cricket this year. We’ve even been spoiled with three Tests – the first time that has happened in the women’s game since 2014.
Nevertheless, it’s fair to say that white-ball cricket still reigns supreme. So, while The Spin puts a lot of weight on Test performances (as we’re sure our readers do too), this team is once again an all-format XI …
1) Hayley Matthews (West Indies) After a lean few years, the West Indies captain at last surpassed the innings in the 2016 T20 World Cup final which made her name, smashing 132 from 64 balls against Australia in October to hand the world champions a rare defeat on home soil. In that three-match T20 series overall, she hit 310 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 174, including 79 in the final match despite a quad injury which left her barely able to walk, let alone run. She was also Player of the Tournament at the inaugural WPL, picked up EIGHT consecutive Player-of-the-Match awards in T20Is between July and October, and found time to take a hat-trick against Ireland in July. Phew – what a year!
2) Tammy Beaumont (England) Made history at Trent Bridge in June, becoming the first ever English player to score a double century in a women’s Test. It was an innings of supreme patience and skill – but she knows how to dial things up, too, as she showed when she smashed 118 from 61 balls for Welsh Fire in August, the highest ever score in the Hundred. Bafflingly, she continues to be omitted from England’s T20 side – perhaps the selectors might come to their senses in 2024.
3) Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka) The smile on Athapaththu’s face when her side pulled off a maiden T20 series win against England in September was a sight to warm the hardest of hearts. England are a rich, professional side; Sri Lanka were basically abandoned by their board during Covid, and are still having to fight for resources. Their triumph against England, following a similar historic ODI series win against New Zealand earlier in the year, at last provided some reward for their heroic captain, who continues to lead from the front with bat and ball.
4) Nat Sciver-Brunt (England) “She elevates us.” Three words from England coach Jon Lewis, spoken after Sciver-Brunt hit an astonishing 120 from 74 balls against Sri Lanka in September, neatly summed up her importance to England’s line-up. She was their leading run-scorer in the T20 World Cup, hit back-to-back hundreds in the Ashes in July, and was the only batter to avoid embarrassment in their recent whopping at the hands of India in the Test. There’s a reason why Mumbai Indians paid £320,000 for her, the joint-highest bid for any overseas player, in February’s WPL auction.
5) Beth Mooney (Australia) Continues to be a run-machine. For what felt like the zillionth time, she was the leading run-scorer in the WBBL, with a tally of 557. She also averaged 52 in the World Cup, including striking crucial half-centuries in the semi-final and the final, exuding the calmness which has become her hallmark. Despite not being Australia’s keeper of choice, she’s also pretty handy with the gloves, so we’re happy to trust her with that role in The Spin XI.
6) Ash Gardner (Australia) Took 58 wickets in 2023, across all formats – the most ever by a woman in a calendar year (thanks @_hypocaust for the stat). That included the small matter of 12 wickets in the Ashes Test in June: the best figures ever recorded by an Australian in women’s Tests, on a pitch which England hilariously thought wouldn’t take spin. They were forced to think again after Gardner’s eight for 66 in the fourth innings rolled them over for 178, handing Australia a first Test win since 2015.
7) Sophie Ecclestone (England) Clearly the best bowler in the world by any measure, be that the ICC rankings (no 1 in ODIs and T20s), the inaugural WPL (joint leading wicket-taker) or the World Cup (more scalps than anyone else). A colossal effort in the Ashes Test – she bowled a ridiculous 77.1 overs – saw her pick up match figures of 10 for 192. Underwent shoulder surgery in September and didn’t quite have the same Midas touch in England’s recent series against India, so fingers crossed she’ll be back to her best in 2024.
8) Deepti Sharma (India) 2023 was all set to be a far from vintage year for the Indian all-rounder. Then – wham – she somehow pulled a match-winning bowling performance out of the bag in the one-off Test against England. Five for seven in the course of just 33 balls on the second day, followed up by four more in the second innings: England didn’t know what had hit them.
9) Pooja Vastrakar (India) Hadn’t played a home Test before this year, but now has two under her belt and will be crying out for more, given how perfectly her bowling seems to suit the format. Her nine scalps across both Tests included two of the best batters in the world, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ellyse Perry, both bowled by late nip-backers in a masterful display of seam movement. Despite frequently coming in at No 9, she’s pretty handy with the bat, too, finishing up the year by hitting 62 not out off 46 balls, taking India to their highest ODI total against Australia.
10) Lea Tahuhu (New Zealand) Spent the year thumbing her nose at the New Zealand selectors, who dropped the 33-year-old from their contract list in May 2022 and have been eating their words ever since. Equally prolific in both the 50-over and 20-over formats, she was New Zealand’s leading wicket-taker (by far) in 2023, and by July had climbed her way up to No 6 in the ICC’s T20 bowling rankings. Long may the late-career renaissance continue.
11) Nonkululeko Mlaba (South Africa) She may not have quite the same big-name draw as some of her teammates, but the 23-year-old left-arm spinner outperformed them all in 2023, taking 27 wickets with remarkable economy rates of 4.05 in ODIs and 5.4 in T20Is. A vital cog in the wheel in South Africa’s triumphant march to their first ever World Cup final, played out in front of a record home crowd at Newlands.
This is an extract from the Guardian’s weekly cricket email, The Spin. To subscribe, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
