The best players in the women’s game will descend on the United Arab Emirates for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup, but who will take the tournament by storm?
The competition, which will be held across October 3-20, will see reigning champions Australia looking to defend their crown.
South Africa, who were beaten finalists in 2023, will join last year’s semi-finalists England and India, with a number of nations looking to knock the Aussies off their perch.
With the tournament almost upon us, LiveCricket.io have picked out three players that could light up the World Cup and prove to be the reasons why their nations pick up the ultimate silverware in the T20 game.
Laura Wolvaardt – South Africa
The South African captain will be looking to lead from the front once again, with Wolvaardt the person to turn to when runs or a cool head is needed.
At the 2023 T20 World Cup, Wolvaardt scored runs at a very impressive rate, hammering 230 runs in six innings. Her exploits, which included three 50s and an average of 46.00, meant she ended the tournament as the top run scorer.
Impressively, she led South Africa all the way to the final and gave her side hope that they could chase down a daunting 157 to win against Australia in the final.
Wolvaardt’s 61 from 48 kept her side in the game, but even she could not get South Africa over the line as they crashed to a 19-run defeat.
This year, Wolvaardt returns, and she will be looking to continue her fine run with the bat at T20 World Cups, but this time she will want to secure the silverware to boot.
With a strike rate of 106.48, Wolvaardt will want to score at a slightly quicker rate as she tries to ensure that South Africa score the runs they need to go one better in 2024.
Natalie Sciver-Brunt – England
What a tournament it was for Nat Sciver-Brunt in 2023 as the English all-rounder starred with the bat.
Her exploits saw her hammer her way to 216 runs in five innings at 54.00. Impressively, Sciver-Brunt scored her runs at a strike rate of 141.18, higher than any other player to have scored more than 100 runs. With the ball in hand, she was less prolific, taking a single wicket.
At the 2024 World Cup, it will be interesting to see whether she is used as a wicket-taking option in any way, or if she will be deployed as a dedicated batter.
Against South Africa in the semi-final, the English star knocked her way to 40 from 34 as she almost led England to victory.
While her side did slip to a defeat by six runs, Sciver-Brunt should be incredibly proud of her exploits in 2023, and she will want to build on her run-scoring in 2024.
Ashleigh Gardner – Australia
While it was Sophie Ecclestone that ended the 2023 World Cup as the leading wicket taker, it is Australia’s bowling option in Ashleigh Gardner that we are most excited to see at the 2024 World Cup.
Gardner took 10 wickets across six matches at 12.50 in 2023. While she only took a single wicket in the final, she did help to keep South Africa’s batters under a lot of pressure, ending with figures of 1-20 with an economy of just 5.00.
Meanwhile, her appearance in the final saw her score 29 from 21 with the bat, with this helping her into the top 20 run scorers with 110. With a strike rate of 119.57, Gardner became a dependable, quick-scoring run maker with the bat.
While it can be tough to shoulder being a genuine all-rounder in the T20 game, Gardner was a big reason why the Aussies won in 2023, and she will fancy her chances of growing her reputation in 2024.
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