For decades, professional cricket operated on a simple, unforgiving assumption: once a woman became a mother, her international career was effectively over. That assumption has been challenged by women who returned to nets, tours, World Cups and captaincy after childbirth, or who built remarkable careers while raising children. From Enid Bakewell’s pioneering 1968–69 Test debut as a young mother to Nat Sciver-Brunt leading England while caring for newborn Theo, these cricketers have expanded what is possible in the women’s game.
Their stories are not merely sentimental footnotes; they are evidence of changing board policies, better medical support, and a growing recognition that parenthood and peak performance can coexist.
This list brings together 20 women cricketers who became mothers, including several who returned to international or high-level domestic cricket afterwards. Some, such as Bismah Maroof, Amy Satterthwaite, Danielle Wyatt-Hodge and Devika Vaidya, made celebrated comebacks; others, including Enid Bakewell, Sarah Elliott and Laura Newton, scored Test centuries after motherhood.
The list also includes players such as Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Rachael Haynes, whose families became part of their cricketing journeys even where their own return-to-play paths differed. Together, they show why the ICC’s 2026 post-pregnancy return-to-play guidelines matter: no player should have to choose between becoming a mother and representing her country.
Motherhood in Women’s Cricket
Bismah Maroof (Pakistan):
Former Pakistan skipper and their all-time leading run-scorer (6,262 runs) became the first beneficiary of the PCB’s maternity policy, returning after daughter Fatima’s birth in August 2021, and leading Pakistan at the 2022 World Cup just six months later, making an unbeaten 78 against Australia. She married her first cousin Abrar Ahmed, who is a software engineer, on 28th November 2018 in Lahore.
Amy Satterthwaite (New Zealand):
The former White Ferns skipper gave birth to her daughter Grace on 13th January 2020, returned to international cricket later that year, and played in her fourth ODI World Cup in 2022 as a vice-captain of the side, retiring from International cricket on 25th May 2022. A couple of years later, she also gave birth to her son Louie on 23rd June 2024. Amy Satterthwaite married the White Ferns cricketer Lea Tahuhu in March 2017.
Nain Abidi (Pakistan):
The former Pakistan vice-captain Nain Abidi married Asad Jafri on 5th January 2017. She gave birth to her son Abbas in 2019. She relocated to the United States and returned to represent Pakistan in 2018. She retired from International cricket for Pakistan in 2019. She resumed playing domestic club cricket in the US and received clearance from the PCB to represent the USA women’s team if selected.
Sarah Elliot (Australia):
She married Rob. She gave birth to son Sam in October 2012. Elliott returned to elite cricket after son Sam’s birth, became the first mother to tour with Australia’s women’s team in 2013, and scored her maiden Test century in that Ashes series while breastfeeding nine-month-old Sam between breaks. She also has a son named Jacob and a daughter named Jocelyn.
Enid Bakewell (England):
A mother by the time she made her Test debut in 1968, Bakewell scored a century on debut. She married Collin Bakewell, shortly after graduating from college in 1959. She has three children: daughters Lorna and Lynne and a son named Robert, the youngest of the three. She played 12 Tests and 23 ODIs for England. Enid Bakewell retired from international cricket on 7th February 1982.
Laura Newton (England):
She married Richard in 2000–2001. Newton took breaks during her England career after the births of her two sons, George and Harry. She played 89 internationals between 1997 and 2007, and scored 1,804 international runs with 31 wickets. Laura Newton announced her International retirement on 9th May 2007.
Sneha Deepthi (India):
She married Phillip Maddirala in October 2019. During her time, she became the youngest T20I debutant for India at the age of 16 years and 204 days, on 2nd April 2013, against Bangladesh at Vadodara. Deepthi returned to domestic cricket for Andhra just eight months after delivering her daughter Kriva, later captained Andhra, and was bought by Delhi Capitals in the inaugural edition in 2023 for a price of 30 lakhs.
Lea Tahuhu (New Zealand):
She married former New Zealand cricketer Amy Satterthwaite in March 2017, after being together since 2010 and engaged in 2014. The New Zealand seamer became a mother and continued her international career. She was one of eight mothers playing at the 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup. She retired from ODI cricket on 7th March 2026, and from T20I cricket after the conclusion of the 10th edition of the T20 World Cup in July 2026.
Afy Fletcher (West Indies):
The West Indies leg-spinner gave birth to her sons Audee and Rennie in 2021. She returned to international cricket in January 2022 after an 18-month paternity leave. She continues to ply her trade at the international level for the West Indies at the age of 39.
Lizelle Lee (South Africa):
The former South African wicket-keeper batter married Tanja Cronje in September 2020. She gave birth to their son Vian on 22nd February 2022 and was among the mothers who featured at the 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup. She announced her international retirement on 8th July 2022. She currently plays in the Women’s Big Bash (WBBL) as a local player for the Hobart Hurricanes.
Megan Schutt (Australia):
She married Jess Holyoake on 30th March 2019. The couple became parents to their daughter, Rylee Louise. However, the couple eventually announced their separation in July 2025 after a 10-year relationship.
She continues to represent Australia at the international level. However, she had earlier announced that the 10th edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup would be her final ICC tournament participation.
Rachel Haynes (Australia):
She married former Australian and New South Wales cricketer Leah Poulton. The couple welcomed their first child, Hugo Poulton-Haynes, in October 2021. Haynes was also a new mother at the 2022 World Cup. She announced her International retirement on 15th September 2022. The Meg Lanning-led Australian gold medal triumph at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 was her final international appearance for Australia.
Masabata Klaas (South Africa):
The active South African pacer gave birth to her daughter named Rethabile, in 2013 whom she is raising as a single mother with the support of her mother. The South African seamer has played the majority of her international career as a mother.
Danielle Wyatt-Hodge (England):
The England veteran top-order batter married football agent and a South African, Georgie Hodge, on 10th June 2024 at Chelsea Old Town Hall in London. The couple gave birth to Daisy James Wyatt-Hodge on 20th May 2026. She returned to England duty within weeks and struck an unbeaten 105 against Sri Lanka in the 2026 T20 World Cup, dedicating the “mummy hundred” to her three-week-old daughter.
Nat Sciver-Brunt (England):
The current England skipper married Katherine Brunt on 29th May 2022, after getting engaged in 2019. England’s captain became a mother in March 2025 when her wife, Katherine, gave birth to their son Theodore. Nat returned after a short maternity break and became the first professional England cricketer to captain her country while a mother.
Katherine Sciver-Brunt (England):
She was England’s all-time leading wicket-taker during her time at the international level with 335 International wickets across formats, until the left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone in July 2026. Married to current England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt gave birth to their son Theodore. Katherine Sciver-Brunt already announced her International retirement on 5th May 2023, before the birth of their child. She retired from all forms of cricket on 19th August 2023. Her experience has helped drive conversations around stronger maternity provisions in the professional game.
Lauren Down (New Zealand):
She is in a relationship with her partner Carl Brungar, and the couple welcomed their daughter named Ruby in January 2024 and toured with the White Ferns six months later. She announced her International retirement earlier this year on 19th February 2026.
Erin Burns (Australia):
She married her wife, Anna Jane, in 2019. The couple gave birth to their son Jack on 20th January 2022 and their daughter Nina on 24th June 2025. The Australian all-rounder became a mother and continued her professional cricket journey, representing a growing group of Australian players balancing parenthood with elite commitments.
Devika Vaidya (India):
She married Meghan Belsare on 21st April 2024, having engaged in May 2023. She gave birth to a baby boy named Dhruv in June 2025. The Maharashtrian leg-spin bowling all-rounder, after taking a break from cricket for motherhood, returned to competitive domestic cricket with Maharashtra this year.
Lauren Winfield-Hill (England):
She married former cricketer and Leeds Rhinos Rugby League player Courtney Hill on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, in March 2020. The couple gave birth to their first child, Margot Joan Winfield-Hill, in January, earlier this year. She balances her domestic cricket career, playing for Yorkshire, Queensland Fire and Sunrisers Leeds.
These players changed more than scoreboards. Bismah Maroof’s comeback helped normalise maternity support in Pakistan; Satterthwaite’s return influenced New Zealand Cricket’s approach; and the Sciver-Brunt household has become central to England’s improved parental provisions, including 12 months’ fully paid maternity leave for international players.
The ICC’s “6 Rs” framework, Ready, Review, Restore, Recondition, Return and Refine, now offers a structured pathway for players returning after childbirth, covering medical review, gradual training, cricket-specific conditioning and ongoing support. The next generation of cricketers will not have to invent the path; these 20 women already walked it.
I am Yash Tailor, and I believe work should be driven by passion. Therefore, after completing my Engineering, I chose to work in the Cricket industry, my passion. My goal is to reach a stage where I truly enjoy what I do and give my best to every task with energy and purpose.