The Women’s T20 World Cup is over. The dust is settling down. New Zealand still haven’t stopped celebrating. A win on the third attempt, 14 years after the last final, must be savoured until the next World Cup.
Champions Australia and favourites England were casualties of the three-week tournament in Dubai and Sharjah, which produced some stirring battles. Let’s look at some of the top performers of the tournament.
1. SOPHIE DEVINE (New Zealand)
Devine’s inspiring leadership helped New Zealand traverse the treacherous league and knockout phases on the way to their maiden triumph. Her half-century was critical in the win over India, which, Devine says, instilled the confidence to win the tournament. Barring that knock, Devine had a quiet tournament but did help string some valuable partnerships. Beyond her batting, the 35-year-old from Wellington used her experience to guide the bunch of youngsters in tough match situations, besides ringing the changes to outwit the opposition.
2. AMELIA KERR (New Zealand)
Kerr, 24, is the Player of the Series and the Player of the Match. That sums up the invaluable contributions from the Kiwi allrounder. Coming in at No. 3, the Wellington-born Kerr rotates the strike and lands hefty blows to keep the scores moving at a tidy pace, and her consistent scoring has kept New Zealand afloat. Her blend of leg-breaks and googlies won matches, snaring a tournament-high of 15 wickets. Even the vaunted Australian batters failed to pick her googlies.
3. SUZIE BATES (New Zealand)
Bates and Devine are the acknowledged “grandmas” of the New Zealand team, and their experience came in handy, especially in big matches. Bates, 37, and opening partner Georgia Plimmer launched the New Zealand inning with gusto in the powerplay, and that helped them get big scores for the bowlers to throttle the opposition. Bates, who hails from Dunedin, also has a safe pair of hands, bringing off several sharp catches at short extra cover. She overtook India’s Mithali Raj as the most-capped player in international cricket with 334 appearances.
4. LAURA WOLVAARDT (South Africa)
The South African captain from Cape Town led from the front, opening the batting to give the team strong starts with Tazmim Brits. For the second World Cup in a row, Wolvaardt, 25, is the leading scorer in the tournament with 223 runs from six matches. Her regular contributions were a feature of the Proteas’s wins. She led South Africa well enough to make their second final in a row but was left to rue the decision to bowl first in the final — a blunder that gave the initiative to New Zealand.
5. TAZMIN BRITS (South Africa)
The South African opener from North West Province is the second-highest scorer in the tournament, behind her captain Wolvaardt. Brits’s 187 runs from six matches speak volumes of her consistency and role in the South African victories. The 33-year-old’s timing was awry in the final, yet she scratched around for a half-century partnership with the captain. Her dismissal was one of the turning points in the final.
6. HARMANPREET KAUR (India)
Kaur, 35, was India’s best player in the tournament, weighing in with big knocks. Whenever the Punjab-born captain flopped, the Indian batting seemed to come off at the seams. One of them was the loss to New Zealand, which hurt India, who were left chasing their tails despite Kaur’s best efforts to turn the team’s fortunes around.
7. DANNI WYATT- HODGE (England)
Wyatt-Hodge, 33, was England’s livewire upfront, providing brisk starts with Maia Bouchier in the powerplay. Her ability to loft over the infield in the early overs has brought her plenty of boundaries and helped her post a century stand against a wayward Scotland bowling. The Staffordshire-born Wyatt-Hodge was undoubtedly England’s player of the tournament.
8. FATIMA SANA (Pakistan)
Pakistan needed more than one Fatima Sana to energise their World Cup campaign. The 22-year-old captain from Sindh led Pakistan with fine allround displays, despite having had to rush home following her father’s demise. But the rest of the team, barring the spinners, were unable to lift their game.
9. BETH MOONEY (Australia)
Mooney, 30, was the leading scorer for Australia, who crashed out in the semifinals. Some of her remarkable innings came at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, where the ball turns and tends to keep low. Two of those knocks — against Sri Lanka and New Zealand — came against some quality spin attack.
10. DEANDRA DOTTIN (West Indies)
The West Indies always have hope when Dottin, 33, is at the crease. The Barbadian had turned her back on the national team to play franchise cricket, only to return for the T20 World Cup. Her comeback lifted the West Indies as Dottin was around to provide the impetus with big sixes. She nearly pulled off a win with three sixes in an over against New Zealand in the semifinal before a soft dismissal terminated her innings and dashed West Indies’ hopes.
