From Belinda Clark to Mithali Raj: Here Are Top 10 All-Time Women's Cricketers
Meg Lanning has won five World Cup titles for Australia [Source: Twitter]
2023 has been a monumental year for women's cricket, with the inaugural Under-19 ICC Women's T20 World Cup, and the first-ever Women's Premier League (WPL). The history of the women's game is reaching out to be as glorious as its men's counterpart, which is more popular in the public eye, however this year, it changed with the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 being the most-watched ICC women's event ever.
Keeping this in mind, let's have a read into all the legends who over the years have contributed to the growth and development of women's cricket and are remembered as all time greats.
Jhulan Goswami
Jhulan Goswami has 255 ODI wickets for India [Source: Twitter]
One of the legends of the game, India's Jhulan Goswami is the leading wicket-taker in women's international cricket. Goswami surpassed Cathryn Fitzpatrick's tally of 240 wickets to etch her name in history books. An inspiration for young girls growing up, the former pacer from Bengal has taken 44 Test, 255 ODI, and 56 T20I wickets, respectively.
She played a major role in India beating England in Test back in 2006, scoring fifty in first Test and picking 10 wickets in the second.
Betty Wilson
Australian Sporting HoF awardee Betty Wilson [Twitter]
Regarded as one of the greats, Australia's Betty Wilson created a name for herself in only 11 Tests. Wilson, who was the first cricketer men's or women's to register a century and pick 10 wickets in a Test, also became the first women's player to record a hat-trick in red-ball cricket.
She became the first woman cricketer to be inducted into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame in 1985. Wilson scored 862 runs and claimed 68 wickets between 1948-58.
Debbie Hockley
Former NZ captain Debbie Hockley [Twitter]
New Zealand's most accomplished women's cricketer, Debbie Hockley, played international cricket for as long as 21 years. A batting superstar, Hockley scored 1,301 Test and 4,064 ODI runs in her career, where she became the first women's player to 4000-run mark.
Hockley was also the first women's cricketer to appear in 100 ODIs and has scored two World Cup centuries. She also won the 2000 World Cup with White Ferns. Post-retirement, she became the first woman President of New Zealand Cricket in 2016.
Sarah Taylor
Sarah Taylor played 226 internationals for England [Source: Twitter]
A modern-day great, England Sarah Taylor almost made history back in 2013, coming seemingly close to playing for Sussex's second XI. Taylor went on to become the first woman to play grade cricket in Australia in 2015.
One of the best wicket-keeper batters, Taylor won both the ICC World Cup and the T20 World Cup with England, and was once the youngest to 1,000 ODI runs. Since retirement, she became the first woman's coach in men's franchise cricket, joining Team Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi T10 League.
Stafanie Taylor
Stafanie Taylor [Twitter]
One of the most brutal batters, West Indies Stafanie Taylor is a force to reckon with. Taylor's stock rose with the introduction of T20 Cricket. Taylor is the only woman to score a century and take four wickets in an ODI.
Leading West Indies, Taylor guided her side to a memorable T20 World Cup 2016 title. She is also the only cricketer male or female to be ranked 1 in ICC ODI Rankings in both batting and bowling simultaneously.
Charlotte Edwards
Charlotte Edwards won both 50-overs and T20 World Cup for England [Source: Twitter]
Charlotte Edwards took England women to greater heights during her playing days. As captain, Edwards won both World Cup and T20 World Cup, as many as three Ashes trophies between 2005 and 2016.
She was the first cricket male or female to score 2,500 T20Is runs and scored as many as 10,273 international runs. Edwards also played domestic cricket in New Zealand and Australia. Post-retirement, she coached Mumbai Indians to their maiden WPL title in 2023.
Belinda Clark
Australia's Clarke created history back in 1997 to became the first cricketer to score 200 runs in an ODI, well before India's Sachin Tendulkar. Clark captained Australia to two World Cup wins between 1994 and 2005.
Regarded as one of the best batters of all time, Clark averaged 45.96 and 47.49 in Tests and ODI, respectively. She also worked as an administrator within Cricket Australia as a Women's Chief Executive. Along with Wilson, she is the only woman player to be inducted into Australian Cricket HoF.
Mithali Raj
Mithali Raj has 10,868 international runs to her name [Source: Twitter]
No list is complete without India's batting maestro Mithali Raj. Raj made an instant impact on the game, scoring and hundred on her ODI debut and then slamming 214 in a Test against England aged 19, and has only rewritten records.
The 40-year-old is the highest run-getter in women's cricket across formats with 10,868. Raj was the first woman to record 6,000 ODI runs and became the first female cricketer to span over 20 years in ODI cricket in 2019. She also guided India to its first World Cup final in 2005.
Meg Lanning
Meg Lanning has five ICC trophies in her cabinet [Source: Twitter]
Unarguably one of the most decorated captains of all time, Australia's Meg Lanning finds herself on the list. Lanning became the youngest-ever Australian captain aged 21 and has since grown into a legend.
Australia's dominance under Lanning is almost unmatched, having won every competition there is under the sun in women's cricket. Under Lanning, Australia has won four T20 World Cups, one 50-overs WC, three The Ashes series, and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Rachael Heyhoe-Flint
England's Rachael Heyhoe-Flint was the first women's cricketer to lift the World Cup back in 1973, where not only as a player but also as an organiser she played her part.
The first female cricketer to hit a six in a Test, Flint led England between 1966 and 1978, where her side never lost a Test series. Flint played an instrumental role in ensuring women became members of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and was the first one included.
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