September 2019 – Top Performers in Women’s Cricket

After a dominant performance in the Ashes, the Australia Women’s cricket team arrived in West Indies this month for 3 ODIs followed by 3 T20Is. They strung together some delightful performances to grind the West Indies team to a 3-0 whitewash in both the ODIs and the T20Is, winning all the six matches quite comprehensively.

Top performers in Women's Cricket
September 2019 – Top performers in Women’s Cricket

The Australia-West Indies series was followed by South Africa Women touring India for 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs. The first T20I was won comfortably by India. With no play possible due to rain in the next two matches, an additional T20I match was arranged to compensate for the abandonment. However, all three remaining matches could be played only in October.

Towards the latter half of the month, Sri Lanka Women arrived in Australia for 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs. The series began with the T20Is with 2 matches being completed in September itself. Australia again won both the matches quite comfortably.

The top performers during the month of September are as follows:

Alyssa Healy (Australia): Australia’s hard-hitting opener Alyssa Healy was the top performer in September. She scored a total of 241 runs in the three ODIs and another 108 runs in the three T20Is against West Indies. She started the ODI series with a fluent century, striking 122 runs off only 105 balls and followed it up with two consecutive half-centuries – 58 in the second ODI and 61 in the third. The 61 runs made in the third ODI came only off 32 deliveries with Healy striking 11 boundaries and a six. During the second T20I against the West Indies, she made another half-century. She also claimed 3 catches in the ODI series. In the first T20I against Sri Lanka, she continued her form by scoring a fluent 43 off only 21 balls. She also completed a milestone of playing her 100th T20I during the second T20I match against Sri Lanka.

Meg Lanning (Australia): Australian captain, Meg Lanning, also had an exceptional series against West Indies. Although she played only 2 of the 3 ODIs, she was the second-highest run-scorer making 179 runs. She opened her account with a century in the first ODI and followed it up with a half-century in the third. With a century in the first ODI, she became the fastest player, male or female, to make 13 centuries. She also scored 76 runs in the T20Is that followed including a run-a-ball 54 in the second T20I.

Ellyse Perry (Australia): No list will be complete without the mention of the Australian veteran all-rounder Ellyse Perry. She scored 178 runs in the ODIs making 112 of those in the second ODI itself. She also picked up 5 wickets in the 3 ODIs and 1 wicket in the first T20I to add to her runs. During the second T20I against Sri Lanka, she picked up 2 wickets for her side.

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Megan Schutt (Australia): Australia’s premier fast-bowler joins the list as the top bowler for the month. She picked up 5 wickets in the ODIs including a hat-trick in the third ODI. She became the first Australian to take a hat-trick in a Women’s ODI and the first female bowler to accomplish this feat twice in international cricket. She followed up her performance in the ODIs by taking 6 more wickets in the T20Is and was instrumental in Australia’s success in the series throughout. She also picked up a wicket in each of the two T20Is played against Sri Lanka during the month.

Georgia Wareham (Australia): Georgia Wareham also had a good series with the ball against the West Indies. She picked up 6 wickets in the 3 ODIs and another 5 wickets in the 3 T20Is that followed. She continued her good form against Sri Lanka by picking up 2 wickets in the first T20I and 1 wicket in the second match.

Jess Jonassen (Australia): Although she did not get many opportunities to contribute with the bat, Jess Jonassen shone with the ball picking up 7 wickets in the T20Is against the West Indies at an average of just over 5 runs. She also picked up 3 wickets in the three ODIs preceding the T20Is.

Harmanpreet Kaur (India): The Indian Women’s T20 captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, had a great start to the T20I series against South Africa. She scored 43 runs off 34 balls hitting three fours and two sixes. She held the innings together for her side, which ultimately led to the team reaching a competitive total. She also picked up a wicket.

Deepti Sharma (India): The talented Indian all-rounder could not do much with the bat. She could manage only a run-a-ball 16. However, she stifled South Africa’s chase by picking up 3 wickets for only 8 runs in 4 overs, bowling as many as 3 maiden overs. She ended up winning the Player of the Match during the game.

Mignon du Preez (South Africa): South Africa’s Mignon du Preez was the only stand-out performer for her side as she top-scored with a classy 59 runs off 43 balls against a high-quality Indian bowling attack that wrecked through the rest of the line-up. Her innings was laced with 4 boundaries and 3 sixes. Unfortunately, she could not win the game for her side as she did not find support from the other batters as only two others managed to get to the double-figures mark.

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Beth Mooney (Australia): Australia’s Beth Mooney made history in the first T20I match during Sri Lanka’s tour of Australia as she became the first player to make two centuries in Women’s T20I cricket. She scored 113 runs of only 61 balls as she hit as many as 20 boundaries. This propelled Australia to their highest score in Women’s T20Is at home as they won comfortably by 41 runs. Earlier during the month, she also scored a half-century in the second ODI against the West Indies.

Chamari Atapattu (Sri Lanka): During the same match where Beth Mooney scored a century (first T20I match against Australia), Chamari Atapattu blitzed her way to 113 runs off just 66 balls. Her innings was highlighted by 12 boundaries and 6 sixes. This was her first century in Women’s T20Is and helped Sri Lanka make their highest score in Women’s T20Is. She also picked up a wicket during the match.

Next month looks to be very action-packed which will surely give us more superstars. South Africa round off their tour of India playing two more T20Is and three ODIs. West Indies will also conclude their tour of Australia, playing the third T20I and the three ODIs. Then starts the Women’s Big Bash League, which brings in experienced and new players to rise to the occasion.

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