As the landmark 10th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) concludes, the finest performers across the tournament’s history have been honored in the WBBL Team of the Decade. An expert panel, chaired by Cricket Australia director Clea Smith and comprising Mel Jones, Lisa Sthalekar, Matthew Mott, Quentin Hull, Laura Jolly, and Alistair Dobson, finalized a list of just 12 names from a rich pool of players who have demonstrated exceptional consistency since the league’s inception in 2015.
Fans also had the chance to select their Team of the Decade, with public votes also taken into consideration for the final composition of the star-studded team, which includes two overseas players. The legendary lineup boasts five Player of the Tournament winners, five Player of the Final awardees, six of the top seven run-scorers in WBBL history, and five of the top seven wicket-takers, solidifying its status as truly elite.
Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) Team of the Tournament:
Beth Mooney (Perth Scorchers, Brisbane Heat)
A 142-game veteran, Beth debuted in the WBBL with the Heat and stayed on for 75 games in the teal, amassing 2,576 runs. Since then, in the previous five seasons, she has featured for the Scorchers and amassed another 2,475 runs from 66 innings. A synonym for consistency, Beth has remarkably amassed over 400 runs in each of the first nine WBBL seasons and fell just 14 runs shy (386) this season in a trimmed 10-league-game season. She has three centuries to her name and is the only player with over 5,000 runs.
In the Heat’s back-to-back title wins, Beth claimed the Player of the Final award and was named the Player of the Tournament in the second edition. It was in the fifth season that she amassed 743 runs from 16 games, her season-best tally, and to date, she has amassed 5,051 runs at an average of 46.33 and a strike rate of 125.24 from 142 games. With as many as 44 fifties and three centuries, she has registered the highest score of 102.
Alyssa Healy (WK) (Sydney Sixers)
A constant in the Sixers lineup, Healy has amassed 3,006 runs from 118 WBBL innings at an average of 26.83 and a strike rate of 134.37, registering 15 fifties and 5 centuries, with the highest score of 112*. Notably, Healy posted over 400 runs in four of the first six seasons and remarkably scored a century in four consecutive seasons from 2017/18 to 2020/21. Battling injuries, Healy has featured in only 5 games across the previous two WBBL seasons. While Healy has never won the Player of the Tournament or Player of the Final honors, she top-scored for the Sixers in both of their title-winning Finals (WBBL 2 and 3) and also captained in the 2016-17 Final when regular skipper Ellyse Perry was ruled out.
Meg Lanning (Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers)
The most decorated captain in international cricket, Lanning has tallied 3,167 runs at a healthy average of 38.62 and a strike rate of 120.18 from 97 WBBL innings. Her tally of runs includes as many as 31 fifties, and her only century—her highest score of 101—came back in 2019/20 when she represented the Scorchers. Lanning was the leading run-scorer in the first couple of seasons, with her season-best tally of 560 also earning her the inaugural Player of the Tournament award, and after two seasons with the Scorchers, she returned to the Stars.
Ellyse Perry (C) (Sydney Sixers)
The leading all-rounder in women’s cricket, Perry, from 131 WBBL outings, has racked up 4,689 runs at an average of 48.84 and a strike rate of 109.09, recording 32 fifties and 2 centuries, with the highest score of 103*. With the ball, from 121 innings, she has taken 70 wickets, including the best of 5/22, while maintaining an economy rate of 7.09.
Ellyse has scored over 350 runs in every WBBL season and now has a hat-trick of 400-plus seasons. Her best-ever tally of 778 runs—the most in a single season to date—came in 2018/19 when she scored two centuries that season and was fittingly named the Player of the Tournament. She is the only captain to lead a club in all ten seasons, including the consecutive title-winning campaigns in WBBL 2 and 3.
Sophie Devine (Perth Scorchers, Adelaide Strikers)
One of the most destructive batters in the women’s game, Devine is the only player in the league’s history to have claimed the Player of the Tournament award twice, achieving the feat in back-to-back seasons. From 129 WBBL outings, she has piled on 3,960 runs at an average of 36.00 and a strike rate of 127.49, recording 22 fifties and four centuries, with the highest score of 106. She has hit the most sixes (147*) in WBBL history, far ahead of second-ranked Lizelle Lee (96*).
Equally impactful with the ball, she has accounted for 109 wickets from 116 innings at an economy rate of 7.39. She won her first Player of the Tournament award during her last stint, in the fifth season, with the Strikers for her season-best performances with the bat (769 runs) and ball (17 wickets). She went on to lead the Scorchers to their maiden title in the seventh season, in 2021.
Grace Harris (Brisbane Heat)
The fan favorite Grace Harris, from 126 WBBL outings, has accumulated 2,847 runs at an average of 24.75 and a strike rate of 130.65. While Grace hasn’t won any top individual honors, she has achieved multiple milestones—scoring the first-ever WBBL century in the inaugural season, the fastest century in the fourth season, and her third century, a record 136*, which was the highest individual score until recently. Her season-best tally of 501 runs came last season, from 17 outings, at a strike rate of 165.89. Besides her batting heroics, she has also claimed 66 wickets from 89 innings, including the best of 4/15, while maintaining an economy rate of 6.90.
Jess Jonassen (Brisbane Heat)
The ever-consistent Jonassen is the most capped (142) player in WBBL history, all for the Heat, and is also the leading wicket-taker in the competition by a healthy margin. Jonassen has scalped 176 wickets from 145 WBBL outings, averaging 19.17 and maintaining an economy rate of 6.58, notably taking over 20 wickets in four of her previous six seasons. With the bat, she scored over 200 runs in each of the first five seasons, including her season-best tally of 416 runs. Overall, from 128 innings, she has added 2,207 runs at a strike rate of 115.48. She played a key role in the Heat’s title defense in 2019-20, scalping the most wickets (21) for the Heat that season.
Marizanne Kapp (Melbourne Stars, Sydney Thunder, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers)
Another leading all-rounder in the women’s game, Kapp has left an undeniable mark on the competition. In the WBBL, she has amassed 1,361 runs at a strike rate of 106.74 from 93 innings, and from 130 bowling outings, she has claimed 133 wickets, including the best of 4/10, while maintaining an economy rate of 5.61.
During her six seasons with the Sixers, she won the title twice, registered her season-best tally of 20 wickets in 2018/19, and in the subsequent season, recorded her best tally of runs (232). In her first season with the Scorchers, she got her hands on the WBBL title again. Though she had a modest season overall, she stepped up when it mattered most in the Final and bagged the Player of the Final award.
Amanda-Jade Wellington (Adelaide Strikers)
The skillful Amanda-Jade is a certain inclusion on the team with 157 wickets from 140 WBBL outings, at an average of 19.77 and a strike rate of 6.78, while also contributing with the bat, scoring 518 runs from 73 innings, striking at 130.30, and registering a fifty.
Her remarkable consistency, evident in her season-best tally of 23 wickets for three seasons straight—twice in the Strikers’ title-winning campaigns—has seen her surge as a leading wicket-taker, ranked 3rd, and among just three players with over 150 wickets. She produced her maiden fifer (5/8) in the 2021/22 season and replicated identical figures again in the following season, which are also the joint second-best bowling figures in WBBL history.
Sarah Aley (Sydney Sixers)
A Sixers great, the star pacer is the only retired player to feature in this Team of the Decade. Sarah called time on her career after 78 WBBL appearances, all for the Sixers, and 89 wickets, at an economy rate of 6.58. Sarah’s average of 17.84 is the best for any bowler who has taken 30 or more wickets since the tournament’s inception. Her standout season in the Magenta came in WBBL 02, when she picked up as many as 28 wickets—the best in a single edition to date—from 16 outings, and in a low-scoring Final, she stepped up with returns of 4/23, claiming both the Player of the Final and Player of the Tournament awards that season.
Megan Schutt (Adelaide Strikers)
The street-smart Schutt is the leading wicket-taker among pacers in the WBBL and the 4th highest overall, with 149 wickets to her name from 136 innings. She has taken her wickets at an average of 20.15, with an economy rate of 5.91, and returned the best of 6/19, which are also the best bowling figures in the competition. Schutt’s season-best of 27 wickets in 2022 was key to the Strikers’ maiden WBBL triumph and she remained at the heart of the title defense with her second-best season tally of 22 wickets.
Molly Strano (Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades)
The ever-reliable Strano has the second most wickets in the competition, 159 from 136 outings, at an average of 19.66 and an economy rate of 6.66, while also adding 560 runs from 68 innings, striking at just over 100. Molly made history on multiple occasions in the WBBL, producing the first five-fer, 5/15, in the inaugural season, which are also her best figures to date.
Her reliability and wicket-taking ability are underlined by her being the first to surpass the 100-wicket milestone in the WBBL. Extraordinary for having played just six seasons with the Renegades, she remains their highest wicket-taker to date, while in her ongoing stint with the Hurricanes, she is already their second-highest wicket-taker after four seasons.
*Stats as of November 28, 2024
Loves all things female cricket
