The year 2023, has been majorly dominated by T20 cricket. The year kickstarted with the Inaugural edition of the ICC Women’s Under-19 World Cup in South Africa in January. India was crowned as the inaugural champions as they clinched their maiden ICC Trophy. It was followed by the 8th edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa in February. Australia clinched their 6th T20I World Cup title.
Let’s have a look at the players who were leading the run-scoring charts in the T20I format this year.
Hayley Matthews (West Indies):
The 25-year-old West Indian skipper Hayley Matthews sits at the top of the run-scoring charts in the T20I format this year. She has been leading her side from the front and has been a stand-out performer for the West Indies, especially in the T20I format this year. She has scored 700 runs at a strike rate of 132.32 at a humongous average of 63.63 in 14 innings. Her tally of runs includes four half-centuries and a century. Her blockbuster performances against Australia. She had a dream outing delivering back-to-back exceptional performances for the West Indies in the limited-overs series, especially in the T20I series against Australia. She almost single-handedly challenged the World Champions Australia in their own backyard. Her best performance with the bat came in the 2nd T20I when she smashed the highest-ever individual score for West Indies in women’s T20Is, going past Deandra Dottin’s unbeaten 112 off just 45 balls against South Africa at the ICC Women’s T20I World Cup in 2010. She helped her side seal a highest-ever successful run chase in the women’s T20Is. She also became the first player to score over 300 runs in a three-match T20I series.
Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa):
The 24-year-old South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt has recently been appointed as the all-format skipper after their impressive performances in the series against New Zealand. She is 2nd on the list with 586 runs to her name at a strike rate of 108.51 and an impressive average of 45.07 in 16 innings. Her tally of runs includes five half-centuries. She has consistently delivered good starts to her side at the top of the order. Her best performance with the bat came on 4th September 2023, in the 3rd T20I against Pakistan when she scored 72 runs at a strike rate of 133.33. However, her effort went in vain as her side ended up on the losing side against Pakistan. She was also the leading run-scorer with 230 runs to her name at a strike rate of 106.48 and an impressive average of 46 in 6 innings in the ICC Women’s T20I World Cup in South Africa, earlier this year.
Rebecca Blake (Romania):
The 25-year-old right-hand batter from Romania has been the leading run-scorer in the T20I format for her side this year. She is 3rd on the list with 537 runs to her name at a strike rate of 127.55 and a monstrous average of 107.40. Her tally of runs includes five half-centuries and a century in 9 innings. Her best performance with the bat for Romania came on 5th August 2023 against Malta when she smashed an unbeaten century (135 runs off 76 balls) at an impressive strike rate of 177.63. She smashed 24 boundaries en route to her match-winning knock.
Kavisha Egodage (UAE):
The young 20-year-old sensation from the United Arab Emirates is fourth on the list and the leading run-scorer for her side with 518 runs at a strike rate of 82.35 and an average of 28.77 in 22 innings. Her tally of runs includes a couple of half-centuries that came against Uganda and Namibia. Her best performance with the bat for the United Arab Emirates came on 3rd October 2023 when she scored an unbeaten 52 runs at almost a run-a-ball strike rate against Namibia.
Esha Oza (United Arab Emirates):
The 25-year-old batting all-rounder from the United Arab Emirates is the 2nd highest run scorer for her side and is 5th on the list with 498 runs and a strike rate of 98.41 and an average of 24.90 in 22 innings. She has been a prominent run-scorer for her side alongside Kavisha Egodage in the T20I format this year. Her tally of runs includes a couple of half-centuries against Bahrain and Hong Kong. She scored an unbeaten half-century (78 runs off 60 balls) against Bahrain in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Region Qualifier. She followed that up with her best performance with the bat for UAE on 8th September 2023 when she scored 85 runs at an impressive strike rate of 141.66 against Hong Kong in the 1st semi-final.