by With the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February, the first Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India and the biggest Women’s Ashes series in history, we have had no shortage of drama in women’s cricket this year. We’ve even been spoiled with three tests – the first time this has happened in women’s football since 2014.
However, it is fair to say that white ball cricket still reigns supreme. So while The Spin places a lot of importance on Test performance (as we’re sure our readers do too), this team is once again an all-format XI…
1) Hayley Matthews (West Indies) After a difficult few years, the West Indies captain finally got over the innings in the 2016 T20 World Cup final that made her famous, smashing 132 off 64 balls against Australia in October to hand the world champions a rare defeat in home. In that three-match T20 series overall, she smashed 310 runs at a staggering strike rate of 174, including 79 in the final match despite a quadriceps injury that left her barely able to walk, let alone run. She was also Player of the Tournament in the inaugural WPL, earning EIGHT consecutive Player of the Match awards in T20Is between July and October, and finding time to score a hat-trick against Ireland in July. Wow, what a year!
2) Tammy Beaumont (England) She made history at Trent Bridge in June, becoming the first English player to score a double century in a women’s Test. It was an innings of supreme patience and skill, but she also knows how to improve things, as she demonstrated when she smashed 118 off 61 balls for Welsh Fire in August, the highest score ever achieved in a Hundred. Surprisingly, she continues to be omitted from England’s T20 squad; maybe the selectors can come to their senses in 2024.
3) Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka) The smile on Athapaththu’s face as his team claimed their first victory in the T20 series against England in September was a sight that warmed the hardest of hearts. England is a rich and professional team; Sri Lanka was basically abandoned by its board during Covid and still has to fight for resources. His triumph against England, following a similar historic victory in the ODI series against New Zealand earlier in the year, finally provided some reward for his heroic captain, who continues to lead from the front with bat and ball.
4) Nat Sciver-Brunt (England) “She lifts us up.” Three words from England coach Jon Lewis, spoken after Sciver-Brunt scored a staggering 120 off 74 balls against Sri Lanka in September, neatly summed up his importance to the England line-up. She was their leading run-scorer in the T20 World Cup, scored back-to-back hundreds in the Ashes in July and was the only batsman to avoid embarrassment in their recent thrashing at the hands of India in the Test. There’s a reason Mumbai Indians paid £320,000 for her, the joint highest bid for any overseas player, in February’s WPL auction.
5) Beth Mooney (Australia) It’s still a running machine. For the umpteenth time, she was the leading run-scorer in the WBBL, with a total of 557. She also averaged 52 in the World Cup, including crucial half-centuries in the semi-final and final, exuding the calmness that has become her hallmark distinctive. Despite not being Australia’s go-to goalkeeper, she’s also quite handy with the gloves, so we’re happy to entrust her with that role in The Spin XI.
6) Ash Gardner (Australia) She 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 England hilariously thought they wouldn’t spin. They were forced to think again after Gardner’s eight for 66 in the fourth innings defeated them for 178, giving Australia a first Test victory since 2015.
7) Sophie Ecclestone (England) Clearly the best bowler in the world by any standard, be it in the ICC rankings (No. 1 in ODIs and T20s), in the inaugural WPL (joint wicket-taking leader) or in the World Cup (more scalps than anyone). A colossal effort in the Ashes Test (he bowled a ridiculous 77.1 overs) saw him post match figures of 10 for 192. He underwent shoulder surgery in September and didn’t have the same Midas touch in the recent series of England against India, so fingers crossed, he will return to his best in 2024.
8) Deepti Sharma (India) 2023 was destined to be a year that was far from harvest for the Indian all-rounder. Then, wham, he somehow pulled out of the bag a match-winning bowling performance in the one-off Test against England. Five for seven off just 33 balls on the second day, followed by four more in the second innings: England didn’t know what had hit them.
9) Pooja Vastrakar (India) He had not played a home Test before this year, but now has two under his belt and will be clamoring for more, given how perfectly his bowling seems to suit the format. His nine scalps in both Tests included two of the world’s best batsmen, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ellyse Perry, both bowled by late backers in a masterful display of seam movement. Despite frequently occupying the number 9 spot, he is also quite skilled with the bat, finishing the year hitting 62 not out off 46 balls, leading India to their highest ODI total against Australia.
10) Lea Tahuhu (New Zealand) He spent the year mocking the New Zealand selectors, who removed 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 risen to No. 6 in the ICC T20 bowling rankings. Long may she continue the late renaissance of the career.
11) Nonkululeko Mlaba (South Africa) She may not have the same big-name appeal as some of her teammates, but the 23-year-old left-arm spinner surpassed them all in 2023, taking 27 wickets with notable economy rates of 4.05 in ODIs and 5, 4 in T20Is. A vital cog in South Africa’s triumphant march to their first World Cup final, it was played in front of a record home crowd at Newlands.
