What used to be purely a man’s game, meaning cricket, has seen its fair share of attention and applause toward the women’s version in the last couple of decades. Much of the interest is owed to genuinely extraordinary talent and pure class exhibited by female cricketers who have broken barriers, shattered records, and inspired millions. Here is a closer look at the top 15 women cricketers across the globe whose performances left an almost indelible mark on the game.
| S. No. | Top Women Cricketers in the World |
| 1 | Mithali Raj (India) |
| 2 | Ellyse Perry (Australia) |
| 3 | Sarah Taylor (England) |
| 4 | Meg Lanning (Australia) |
| 5 | Smriti Mandhana (India) |
| 6 | Stefanie Taylor (West Indies) |
| 7 | Jhulan Goswami (India) |
| 8 | Suzie Bates (New Zealand) |
| 9 | Shishikala Siriwardene (Sri Lanka) |
| 10 | Alyssa Healy (Australia) |
| 11 | Dane Van Niekerk (South Africa) |
| 12 | Deandra Dottin (West Indies) |
| 13 | Amelia Kerr (New Zealand) |
| 14 | Harmanpreet Kaur (India) |
| 15 | Katherine Brunt (Britain) |
Mithali Raj (India)
Source: Telangana Today
Truly, Mithali Raj should be mentioned in the list of the greatest batters ever to step onto a cricket pitch, in par with Sachin Tendulkar of women’s cricket. She happens to be the highest scorer in any form of women’s cricket and has compiled in excess of 7,000 runs in ODI innings alone. Her serene technique and consistency have really taken off to make her a legend in Indian cricket.
She became the first woman to spend 20 years in international cricket, beauty literate—enshrining her longevity and importance in the game. She captained India to two ICC Women’s World Cup finals, in 2017 as well as 2005, and thus became the first legendary captain of India.
Ellyse Perry (Australia)
Source: The Daily Guardian
There probably has not been a woman cricketer who is as good an all-rounder in every part of the game as Ellyse Perry. She just has done her job brilliantly with both bat and ball in every format. Perry played her first international game for Australia at the age of sixteen, and from then on, she has been brilliant both with her bat and ball. In T20 international cricket, she is the first male or female cricketer ever to have taken 1,000 runs and 100 wickets as well.
Perry is one of the keystones to the Athletico Australian team, for what she brings in athletic capacity, work ethic, and the way she can deliver under pressure. Her efforts against the English in the 2019 Ashes series, scoring an unbeaten 116 in a Test match and five wickets across the series, are etched in cricketing history.
Sarah Taylor (England)
Source: Caught at Point
Sarah Taylor can be termed as one of the greatest wicket-keepers in the game. Quick reflexes, sharp glovework, and standing up to stumps against fast bowlers mark her out. Her batting did come out quite a few times, generally opening the innings for England and putting them on a very sound platform.
She made all the difference in England’s wins at the 2009 and 2017 editions of ICC Women’s World Cups. The grace which Taylor brought into her batting and the elegance behind the stumps made her a treat to watch for cricket enthusiasts; indeed, it was a blow to the sport when she eventually decided to hang up her boots in 2019 due to anxiety issues.
Meg Lanning (Australia)
Source: The Statesman
Enter Meg Lanning, aka “Megastar,” as one of the women’s game’s most prolific scorers. Under her captaincy, she has led the Australian Women’s Cricket Team to win a host of tournaments, including the T20 World Cup and the ICC Women’s World Cup. That explains the talent and head in relation to pulling off an attacking big run-knock single-handedly in bigger games. She has maximum number of centuries in women’s ODIs, which proves she has a tendency for long, match-winning knocks.
Smriti Mandhana (India)
Source: Google Images
Born on July 18, 1996, Smriti Mandhana happens to be one of the most stylish and aggressive hitters the women’s game has ever seen. She had just joined the Indian squad back in 2013, preceded by the reputation for uncompromising top-order consistency and grace in stroke play. With her ultra-sporting aggression, Mandhana turned into the ICC Ladies’ Cricketer of the Year in 2018 and 2019. Mandhana is as yet an India batting pillar and has a hand in nearly all the successes of her team.
Stefanie Taylor (West Indies)
Source: Google Images
Born in Jamaica on 11 June 1991, Stafanie Taylor is an aggressive all-rounder out of the West Indies. Having made her debut for the West Indies women’s cricket team back in the year 2008, she happens to be one of the star performers bearing prime qualities: a reliable off-spin bowling all-rounder and hitter. She was adjudged Player of the Tournament and led West Indies to capture their maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2016. Now, when leadership gets added to all-round abilities, she can reach the pinnacle of this global game.
Jhulan Goswami (India)
Source: Google Images
Jhulan Goswami was one of the fastest bowlers in history to play in women’s tennis. She was born on November 25, 1982, in Chakdaha, West Bengal. Very soon after her inclusion in the national team in the year 2002, Goswami came to be India’s all-time leading wicket-taker in WODIs. She definitely turned out to be fast and an opportune performer over all these years for India.
One-Day Internationals make her the first woman cricket player to take 200 wickets. She contributed a lot toward Indian cricket through fast bowling and remains an inspiration even now to many budding players across the globe.
Suzie Bates (New Zealand)
Source: The Cricketer
Suzie Bates was born in Dunedin on 16 September 1987, and turns out to be one of the greatest cricketers New Zealand has ever produced. She made her New Zealand debut in 2006 and soon proved to be a very potent batswoman, along with being a medium-pace bowler. She was crowned ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year in the year 2013 and again in 2015.
She captains New Zealand, having captained the team in various ICC events. To the world, she will remain one of the greatest ever-born female cricketers on Earth—an overwhelming factor in the game who sent sheaves of terror down the opposition’s spine with bat and ball.
Shishikala Siriwardene (Sri Lanka)
Source: The Cricketer
One of the greatest women cricketers brought up by the island, Shashikala Siriwardene was born on February 14, 1985, in Colombo. An all-rounder at debut in 2003, she turned out far better being an off-spin bowler. More importantly, she has been the one catalyst behind the growth of Sri Lanka in the women’s version.
She has taken charge of the nation many a time. She batted sometimes and has done so with good results. She also holds the record for maximum wickets taken by any female cricketer from Sri Lanka in ODIs. Siriwardene retired gracefully in 2020, leaving behind a huge legacy to inspire future generations.
Alyssa Healy (Australia)
Source: Google Images
This talented wicketkeeper-batter was born Alyssa Healy on 24 March 1990 in Gold Coast, Queensland. Having made her debut for Australia in 2010, instant recognition as a player who can carry the aggressiveness in batting with superior wicket-keeping abilities was towards Healy’s credit.
She was instrumental in dominating any ICC competition for Australia, including the T20 World Cup. Now, that speaks volumes about her supremacy in the sport—Healy holds the remarkable record for scoring the highest individual Women’s T20 International score.
Dane Van Niekerk (South Africa)
Source: Google Images
The prodigious all-rounder Dane van Niekerk was born in Pretoria on 14 May 1993 and captained the South African women’s cricket team. She has been part of the South African team since her debut in the year 2009. She bowled with leg spin and was known for her aggressive technique at the crease.
She became the first player – male or female – in South Africa to take 100 wickets in T20 Internationals. In fact, under her leadership, South Africa has come quite a long way and tried its potential about this sporting discipline for women and proved to be a big player at the international level.
Deandra Dottin (West Indies)
Source: Google Images
Born on June 21, 1991, in Barbados, Deandra Dottin was one of the hardest hitters ever witnessed in the women’s game. Her West Indies debut in 2008 made clear what quick reflexes combined with powerful hitting were able to do very fast.
She definitely is one of those players who can change the course of the game in a matter of a few overs—she owns the record for the fastest hundred in a Women’s T20 International. She has become an all-rounder the West Indies require as she has also contributed by bowling medium-pace.
Amelia Kerr (New Zealand)
Source: Google Images
Probably the most exciting young prospect in women’s cricket is Amelia Kerr. Born on October 13, 2000, in Wellington, she was first introduced to the game as a little girl. Upon her immediate recognition as a hard-hitting, leg-spin bowling batswoman after making her New Zealand debut in 2016, her 2018 match score of 232* against Ireland still stands as the greatest single-match score in the history of Women’s ODI. With her skill at bat and with the ball, Kerr joins the ranks of some top cricket players who will be worth looking out for in the upcoming years because of her exploits at such an early age.
Harmanpreet Kaur (India)
Source: Google Images
Harmanpreet Kaur was born on March 8, 1989, in Punjab. The lass has flourished to stand among the greatest cricket players India has ever produced. Kaur lost little time in getting announced as a formidable hitter and a fierce batter once she started playing in ODIs in 2009.
She gained global popularity when she led India to the final of ICC Women’s World Cup in 2017 after posting an unbeaten 171 against Australia in the semis. A fine off-spinner, she has represented the Indian team as captain in every format of the game, including T20 Internationals.
Katherine Brunt (Britain)
Source: Sky Sports
Katherine Brunt was born in Barnsley on 2 July 1985 and is probably England’s greatest fast bowler. In the early days of her career, Brunt combined ferocity, swing, and speed that brought her into the limelight in 2004. Brunt was a mainstay of England in their triumphs at ICC Women’s World Cup in 2009 and 2017. She is also a very useful lower-order batter who can get important runs whenever called upon to do so.
Conclusion
These are 15 cricketers who have helped take the world of women’s cricket great strides forward, with a significant contribution in raising the game’s bar and increasing the game’s following across the globe. From the elegance and class of Mithali Raj to the matchless all-round quality of Ellyse Perry, from the explosion of power by Deandra Dottin to wicket-keeping pioneers like Sarah Taylor, each of these players has left an indelible mark on the game. The measure of their contribution is not in runs and wickets, but in the inspiration that they provide to numerous little girls around the world who aspire to play cricket at the highest level.
These women have broken records, defied stereotypes, and time and again demonstrated that cricket is a game that knows no boundary of gender. With more such talents coming up, the future of women’s cricket is surely brighter than the sun, and these are the pathbreakers showing the way for this generation. They have left legacies that will forever inspire, shape the new breed of cricketers and ensure that the game remains a global passion for many more years going forward.
