Top Performers in Women’s Cricket – November 2019
As compared to October, November turned out to be a quiet month for international cricket. Bangladesh rounded up their tour of Pakistan with 2 ODIs, winning one and losing the other. India completed its tour of the West Indies comprising of 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is. India outclassed West Indies in both the formats winning the ODIs 2-1 before wrapping up their tour with a 5-0 whitewash in the T20Is.
On the domestic front, the Women’s Big Bash League continued all the way through the month giving us the final teams who would be competing for the title.
The top performers during the month of November are as follows:
• Stafanie Taylor (West Indies) – West Indies’ all-rounder Stafanie Taylor was only available for the ODI series during India’s tour of West Indies and she made her presence felt. She made 94 runs off 91 balls in the first ODI and picked up 2 valuable wickets to deny India the first victory of the tour. She made another 79 runs in the third ODI taking her series tally to 193 runs and being the top-scorer in the ODI series from both teams. However, she failed to get any support from the other end as India chased down a paltry target of 195 quite comfortably to take the series 2-1. She was adjudged the Player of the Series during the ODI leg.
• Jemimah Rodrigues (India) – Indian opener Jemimah Rodrigues shone with the bat in both the ODIs and the T20Is. She scored 110 runs in the ODIs including 69 in the third ODI in which she shared a partnership of 141 runs with her partner Smriti Mandhana. She also scored 41 runs in the first ODI. In the third T20I, she scored 40 runs out of the 60 runs required as the other players struggled on a difficult pitch. She ended the tour scoring another half-century in the final T20I taking her tally to 96 runs.
• Smriti Mandhana (India) – India’s veteran opener, Smriti Mandhana, was injured and could only play one ODI match and the T20I series. However, she was right back into the groove scoring 74 runs off 63 balls in the only ODI that she played, winning the Player of the Match, sharing a mammoth 141-run stand with Jemimah Rodrigues. During that innings, she also became the third-fastest cricketer to score 2000 runs in Women’s ODIs reaching the mark in just 51 ODIs. She continued her form in the T20Is scoring 67 runs off only 46 balls in the first T20I. She scored another 30 in the second T20I as India chased down 104 runs easily without losing a single wicket.
• Shafali Verma (India) – India’s swash-buckling T20I specialist opener, Shafali Verma, had an excellent series top-scoring with 158 runs in 5 T20Is. She scored 73 runs off only 49 runs in the first T20I and took the limelight away from her more established partner, Smriti Mandhana, as they shared an opening partnership of 143 runs, the highest partnership for any wicket for India in T20Is. She hit six fours and four sixes in that innings. She followed it up with another 69 off 35 deliveries hitting as many as 10 fours and 2 sixes. Her effort earned her the Player of the Series for the T20I leg.
RT if you feel India has found an immensely talented youngster in Shafali Verma.
Her first overseas tour and she made the most of it by scoring 158 Runs in 5 Innings with an average of 39.50 and 2 Half-Centuries against West Indies. 💪🇮🇳 #IndvWI #INDwvWIw pic.twitter.com/kXCRk8V9w7
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) November 21, 2019
• Deepti Sharma (India) – Deepti Sharma, India’s premier all-rounder, shone with the ball throughout the series. She was one of the 3 bowlers to pick up 5 wickets in the ODI series, but she had the lowest average of them all at only 18.40. She picked up 2 wickets each in the first and second ODI and 1 wicket in the third. She was the highest wicket-taker in the T20I leg picking up 8 wickets in 4 T20Is at an average of just over 5 runs per wicket including a four-wicket haul in the second T20I.
• Anisa Mohammed (West Indies) – West Indian strike bowler Anisa Mohammed had an excellent outing in the first ODI as she picked up a five-wicket haul to win the game for West Indies by a narrow margin of 1 run. She picked up 2 wickets in the last over of the match as India failed to get nine runs from the last six deliveries bowled by her. She picked up another 3 wickets in the T20I series that followed.
• Fargana Hoque (Bangladesh) – Bangladesh’s Fargana Hoque scored 94 runs in the ODI series and was second to Nahida Khan in the run charts. However, she will be remembered for her innings in the second ODI. Chasing 211 for victory, she scored an invaluable 67 runs which allowed Bangladesh to beat Pakistan by 1 wicket, making it the highest successful run-chase by Bangladesh in ODIs. Her effort won her the Player of the Match.
• Nahida Khan (Pakistan) – Pakistan opener Nahida Khan had a decent outing against Bangladesh in the ODIs. She top-scored with 131 runs in the 2 ODIs scoring 68 runs in the first ODI and 63 runs in the second. Her presence allowed Pakistan to build a strong foundation to their innings. She won the Player of the Match in the first ODI.
Pakistan secured a 29-run victory in the opening ODI of the series, with Nahida Khan hitting 68. #PAKvBAN REPORT ⬇️ https://t.co/gsACJZFeQC https://t.co/UaGw8UBWAH
— ICC (@ICC) November 2, 2019
The month of November was also notable for a number of new records in the Women’s Big Bash League:
• Ellyse Perry (representing Sydney Sixers) made 87 runs from 68 balls against Melbourne Stars and created a record of the highest partnership in WBBL history, forging a partnership of 199 runs with Alyssa Healy. She also scored an unbeaten 70 runs off 56 deliveries against Hobart Hurricanes and another 81 runs off 70 deliveries against Sydney Thunder.
• Alyssa Healy (representing Sydney Sixers) shared the record partnership with Ellyse Perry against Melbourne Stars. She scored an unbeaten century off just 53 balls.
• Sophie Devine (representing Adelaide Strikers) scored 85 runs off 56 deliveries against Melbourne Stars. She smashed five sixes off consecutive balls to record the most consecutive sixes in the history of the tournament. She was a consistent scorer throughout the month scoring 65 runs off 53 balls against Brisbane Heat, 77 runs off 58 balls against Melbourne Stars, 62 runs off 58 balls and 88 runs off 56 balls against Sydney Thunder and 46 runs off 43 balls against Sydney Sixers. She ended up top-scoring in the tournament with 769 runs and taking 19 wickets making her the Player of the Tournament.
• Jess Jonassen (representing Brisbane Heat) took 4 wickets each against Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers. She gave a good account of her all-around capabilities by scoring 63 runs off only 29 balls against Melbourne Renegades.
• Lizelle Lee (representing Melbourne Stars) was a standout performer for her team in November. She scored an unbeaten century off 65 deliveries against Perth Scorchers, 62 off 46 deliveries and 70 off 44 deliveries against Melbourne Renegades.
The next month will be relatively quiet as we head to a new year. The only international fixture will be Pakistan competing with England in Malaysia. India A will also be touring Australia after the Women’s Big Bash League draws to a close.
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