Statistical Analysis: Who are Top Performers of Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 2024?

The recently concluded iconic 10th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) had it’s own version of it’s highs and lows. We witnessed a shortened version of the tournament with 40 league games instead of 56, which also meant the teams played a total of 10 league matches each instead of 14 in the previous edition. Many records were rewritten throughout the course of the tournament. We also witnessed a new winner this season, to add the icing on the cake to cap off the iconic season.

Team Seedings:

Melbourne Stars:

The Melbourne Stars led by skipper Annabel Sutherland had a horrible campaign as they finished at the bottom of the table with 5 points from 10 games, including just a couple of victories against the Hobart Hurricanes and the Sydney Sixers.

Meg Lanning was the highest run-scorer for her side with 158 runs at a decent strike rate of 120.61 in 9 innings with the bat for her side. Her tally of runs includes one unbeaten half-century (58* off 36 balls) on 1st November 2024 against the Sydney Sixers at North Sydney Oval, Sydney. Kim Garth was their highest wicket-taker for their side with 10 wickets at an impressive average of 16.10 and an economy of 6.19 in 9 innings with the ball for her side.

Adelaide Strikers:

Despite a star-studded line-up, the defending champions led by skipper Tahlia McGrath had a season to forget as they finished in the penultimate position in the points table with 7 points from 10 games including three victories against the Scorchers, Hurricanes, and the Sixers.

Skipper Tahlia McGrath led from the front with the bat as she was the highest run-scorer for her side with 222 runs at a decent strike rate of 127.58 and an impressive average of 31.71 in 9 innings for her side. Her tally of runs includes a couple of half-centuries. Her best performance with the bat came on 3rd November 2024 against the Melbourne Renegades when she scored an unbeaten half-century (64* off 44 balls), against the Melbourne Renegades at the Junction Oval, Melbourne.

Megan Schutt was the leading wicket-taker for her side with 13 wickets at an average of 18.46 and an economy of 7.05 in 9 innings with the ball for her side.

Sydney Sixers:

The Sydney Sixers led by skipper Ellyse Perry also had a disappointing campaign in the iconic 10th edition of the tournament. Much like the Strikers they also had a solid star-studded line-up. They finished 6th on the points table with 8 points from 10 games including three victories against the Melbourne Stars, Hobart Hurricanes, and the Melbourne Renegades in the league stages of the tournament.

Skipper Ellyse Perry was the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 424 runs at an impressive strike rate of 137.21 and a sensational average of 53 in 10 innings with the bat for her side. Her tally of runs included four half-centuries. Her best performance with the bat for her side this season came on 6th November 2024 against the Hobart Hurricanes when she scored an impressive half-century (86 off 62 balls). She was also awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant performance with the bat for her side.

Ashleigh Gardner was the highest wicket-taker for her side and the joint 4th highest wicket-taker of the tournament (alongside Sophie Molineux from the Melbourne Renegades) with 16 wickets to her name at an average of 16.31 and an economy of 6.89 in 10 innings for her side with the ball. Her tally of wickets includes a couple of four-wicket hauls, with her best performance with the ball came on 21st November 2024 against Perth Scorchers when she returned with brilliant match figures (4-0-21-4) in her spell with the ball. The game eventually went into a super over which was also tied and hence both sides shared points.

Perth Scorchers:

The Perth Scorchers led by skipper Sophie Devine failed to live up to the expectations as they finished 5th on the points table with 9 points from 10 games including four victories. The Scorchers just missed out on a spot in the final four courtesy of their three-wicket defeat against the Hobart Hurricanes in the last league game of their campaign.

Wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney was the highest run-scorer for her side and the 3rd highest run-scorer of the tournament with 386 runs at an impressive strike rate of 133.10 and an average of 38.60 in 10 innings for her side with the bat. Her tally of runs included three half-centuries. Her best performance with the bat for her side came on 15th November 2024 against the Brisbane Heat when she played an exceptional innings (97 off 64 balls) with the bat for her side at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. However, it came in a losing cause as Georgia Voll’s unbeaten 97* (56 balls) nullified the impact.

Alana King was the highest wicket-taker for her side and the joint-highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 20 wickets (alongside Samantha Bates from Sydney Thunder) at an exceptional average of 13.30 and an economy of 7.06 in 10 innings for her side with the ball. Her tally of wickets included one five-wicket haul against the Brisbane Heat on 5th November 2024 against the Brisbane Heat when she returned with brilliant match figures (4-0-16-5) with the ball for her side at the W.A.C.A, Perth.

Hobart Hurricanes:

The Hobart Hurricanes led by skipper Elyse Villani had a decent campaign as they sneaked into the final four position by knocking the Scorchers out of contention in their last league game courtesy of a 3-wicket win. They had 10 points from 10 games with 5 victories and as many defeats from their campaign. However, their journey in the tournament came to an end against Sydney Thunder led by skipper Phoebe Litchfield in the knockout game as they ended up on the losing side by 6 wickets at the Drummoyne Oval, Sydney on 27th November 2024.

Wicket-keeper batter Lizelle Lee was the leading run-scorer for her side and the 2nd highest run-scorer of the tournament with 399 runs at a mindblowing strike rate of 155.85 and an impressive average of 39.90 in 11 innings with the bat. Her tally of runs includes a couple of centuries. Her best performance with the bat came on 10th November 2024 against the Perth Scorchers when she stayed unbeaten on a record-breaking 150* (75 balls) at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Heather Graham was the highest wicket-taker for their side with 13 wickets at an average of 24.61 and an economy of 8 in 11 innings with the ball for her side.

Sydney Thunder:

Thunder led by skipper Phoebe Litchfield had an impressive campaign in the 10th edition of the tournament as they finished 3rd on the points table with 13 points from 10 games including 6 victories. As a result, of their 3rd position finish, they secured the hosting rights for the knockout game against Hobart Hurricanes. They defeated the Hurricanes by 6 wickets in the knockout fixture to progress to the Challenger, however, they ended up on the losing side in the Challenger by 9 wickets to the Brisbane Heat to end their campaign in the 10th edition of the tournament.

Skipper Phoebe Litchfield was the leading run-scorer for her side and the 4th highest run-scorer of the tournament with 342 runs to her name at a decent strike rate of 133.07 and an impressive average of 28.50 in 12 innings for her franchise. Her tally of runs included one half-century against the Hobart Hurricanes on 28th October 2024 when she scored a brilliant half-century (51 off 37 balls) at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart.

Samantha Bates was the highest wicket-taker for her franchise and also the joint-highest wicket-taker of the season with 20 wickets (alongside Alana King, Perth Scorchers) at an impressive average of 13.45 and an impressive economy of 6.35 in 12 innings with the ball for her side. Her tally of wickets includes a couple of four-wicket hauls and her best performance with the ball for her franchise came on 1st November 2024 against the Adelaide Strikers when she returned with match figures (4-0-21-4) in her spell at the North Sydney Oval, Sydney.

Brisbane Heat:

Heat led by skipper Jess Jonassen had an impressive campaign as she led a spirited bunch of squad who managed to finish 2nd on the points table with 14 points from 10 games, including 7 victories in their campaign in the group stage. As a result of their finish on the 2nd spot of the table, they secured the hosting rights for the Challenger on 29th November 2024 at the Allan Border Field, Brisbane. They thrashed Thunder by 9 wickets in the Challenger to book their spot in the final. However, they ended up as the runners-up of the tournament courtesy of a 7-run defeat in the title clash against the Melbourne Renegades in a rain-curtailed encounter.

Grace Harris was the leading run-scorer for her side with 277 runs at a decent strike rate of 133.17 and a decent average of 25.18 in 12 innings for her side with the bat. Her tally of runs includes one half-century against the Hobart Hurricanes on 2nd November 2024 when she played a brilliant knock of 75 (57 balls) at the Junction Oval, Melbourne.

Skipper Jess Jonassen was the highest wicket-taker for her side and the 3rd highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 17 wickets at an impressive average of 18.23 and an economy of 7.04 in 12 innings for her side with the ball. Her tally of wickets includes her best figures of (2-0-8-3) in her spell against the Melbourne Stars in a shortened encounter on 22nd November 2024 at Allan Border Field, Brisbane.

Melbourne Renegades:

The Renegades led by skipper Sophie Molineux also had a sensational campaign in the tournament as they finished on top of the points table with 14 points from 10 games including 7 victories in the group stages courtesy of a superior net run rate. As a result of their top-of-the-table finish, they secured the hosting rights for the WBBL 10 final. They booked their spot in their maiden appearance in the WBBL final.

Hayley Matthews was the leading run-scorer for her side with 324 runs at a strike rate of 130.64 and a sensational average of 40.50 in 10 innings for her side with the bat. Her tally of runs includes three half-centuries. Her best performance with the bat for her side came on 11th November 2024 against the Adelaide Strikers when she played a blazing innings of 85* (54 balls) with the bat for her side at the Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide.

Skipper Sophie Molineux was the highest wicket-taker for her side and the joint 4th highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 16 wickets (alongside Ashleigh Gardner, Sydney Sixers) at an exceptional average of 12.06 and an economy of 7.14 in 7 innings with the ball for her side. Her tally of wickets includes a couple of four-wicket hauls and her best performance with the ball for her side came on 2nd November 2024 against the Perth Scorchers when she returned with sensational match figures (4-0-17-4) in her spell at the Junction Oval, Melbourne. The Melbourne Renegades led by Sophie Molineux also went on to clinch their maiden WBBL title defeating the Jess Jonassen-led Brisbane Heat by 7 runs in the final.

Most Runs: Women’s Big Bash League 2024

Most Wickets: Women’s Big Bash League 2024

Highest Individual Score: Women’s Big Bash League 2024