Many of us might know about the players in the men’s game who had a dream start to their careers in the ODI format, but do you know about the women cricketers who scored a century on their ODI debut? Let us find it out in this article.
Women players to score centuries on their ODI debut:
Lynne Thomas and Enid Bakewell (England):
They made their ODI debut against the International XI and the duo scored centuries on their debut, opening the innings for England. Enid Bakewell stayed unbeaten on 101, while Lynne Thomas scored 134 and lost her wicket courtesy of a runout. Twin centuries at the top of the order helped England post a massive total of 258 runs on the board, they eventually won the game comprehensively by 135 runs. Lynne Thomas scored 821 runs with an average of 45.61 in 22 innings in ODIs. Her tally of runs included three half-centuries and one century. Edin Bakewell scored 500 runs in 17 innings with an average of 35.71 in ODIs. Her tally of runs included a couple of half-centuries and a couple of centuries.
Mithali Raj and Reshma Gandhi (India):
Mithali Raj made her ODI debut against Ireland on June 26 1999 and registered herself in the history books by scoring an unbeaten century (114*), alongside her opening partner. She has established herself as India’s one of the greatest batters of all time, a stalwart in the history of Indian Women’s cricket. She scored 7805 runs in 211 innings with an astonishing average of 50.68. Her tally of runs included 64 half-centuries and seven centuries. She played her last International match for India on 27th March 2022 in an ODI against South Africa during the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in 2022.
Reshma Gandhi started her career as a wicketkeeper and a top-order batter for Maharashtra at the domestic level. She made her International debut on 26 June 1999, in an ODI against Ireland. She had a promising start to her ODI career, as she scored an unbeaten century (104) against Ireland. However, her time at the international level lasted as long as two games. She played her last international game against England on 11 July 1999.
Nicole Bolton (Australia):
The Left-handed opening batter made her ODI debut against England on 23rd January 2014 in a Women’s Ashes series. She had an outstanding debut scoring 124 runs off 152 balls at a strike rate of 81.57, becoming the highest-scoring debutant for Australia in Women’s ODIs. Her knock played a pivotal role in helping Australia keep the Ashes series alive. She later, went on to score 1896 runs at an average of 41.21 in 50 innings for Australia. Her tally of runs included 12 half-centuries and four centuries. She played her last international game for Australia on 18th July 2019 in a One-Off Test Match against England in the Women’s Ashes.
Mary-Anne Musonda (Zimbabwe):
The 32-year-old batter Mary-Anne Musonda made her ODI debut for Zimbabwe on 5th October 2021 against Ireland. She is one of those late bloomers, however, she made up for her lost time by making a strong statement about her arrival on the international stage by scoring an unbeaten century (103 off 114 balls), leading from the front, and joining a rare list of players. Her knock played a crucial role in helping beat Ireland by chasing down a total of 254 with more than six overs to spare. She was awarded the Player of the Match for her outstanding effort with the bat.
Natthakan Chantham (Thailand):
She is one of the stalwarts of the Thailand Women’s cricket team especially in the T20I format, scoring over 1500 runs with a strike rate of 91.04 in 70 innings so far. Her tally of runs includes eight half-centuries in the T20I format with a highest of 88 not out against Zimbabwe in the year 2021. She is an inspiration and a torch-bearer for many aspiring women cricketers back in Thailand. She made her ODI debut against the Netherlands on 20 November 2022. She continued her legacy from the T20I format to the ODIs as she scored a century (102 off 135 balls) on her debut. Her knock included eight boundaries and a maximum. She has scored 473 runs at an astonishing average of 52.55 in the nine innings so far. Her tally of runs includes five half-centuries and a century.