ICC recently announced a 12 member Team of the Tournament soon after the historic T20 World Cup Final at Melbourne. 5 Players from the Australian team made it to the list.
Introducing your Women’s #T20WorldCup 2020 Team of the Tournament 🌟 pic.twitter.com/Eb4wQUc7Ls
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) March 9, 2020
Alyssa Healy (Wicketkeeper)
Runs: 236 | Average: 39.33 | SR: 156.29
The swashbuckling wicket-keeper bat, who opens for Australia, was clearly the best wicketkeeper-batter in the tournament as she and Beth Mooney did well consistently at the top of the order. Healy kicked off the campaign in style as she smashed a fluent half-century against India, however, her side ended up on a losing side. It was as if she reserved her best for the last, as she came out all guns blazing against the same opposition in the final. Healy muscled a 39-ball 75 to shatter India’s hopes of winning the World T20 Cup.
Beth Mooney
Runs: 259 | Average: 64.75 | SR: 125.12
The highest run-getter in the World T20, Beth Mooney came out strong after scoring in single digit in the first two games. Mooney’s ability to pace her innings is one of the qualities that set her apart. In most of the occasions, she plays the second fiddle to her aggressive opening partner Alyssa Healy. But, Mooney, with her ability to switch gears at will is nothing less than a nightmare for the opposition. She had a wonderful run in the competition and was deservingly awarded the Player of the tournament.
Natalie Sciver
Runs: 202 | Average: 67.33 | SR: 113.48
Natalie Sciver shouldered the batting responsibility of England impeccably as she always found herself in the middle very early in the innings. The English openers had an ordinary outing in the World T20, which meant that Sciver, along with skipper Heather Knight had to do the bulk of the batting. With three half-centuries in four games in the league stage, Sciver was unequivocally the best bat of England. She was also involved in a 169-run unbeaten partnership with her captain against Thailand.
Heather Knight
Runs: 193 | Average: 64.33 | SR: 136.87
Just like Natalie Sciver, England captain Heather Knight was forced to regularly bail her side out of tough situations since the opening pair failed to provide a foundation to the batters to follow. Knight smashed an unbeaten century against Thailand and an important half-century against Pakistan. Though her side made it to the semi-finals, they were knocked out as the match against India was washed out.
Meg Lanning (Captain)
Runs: 132 | Average: 44 | SR: 97.18
Australia’s captain Meg Lanning who led her side to the fifth World T20 title is inarguably the skipper of the ICC Women’s World T20 team. Lanning was a vital cog in the Aussie batting wheel as she played some crucial knocks in the middle order. Her unbeaten knock of 49 against South Africa in the semi-final helped the defending champions to reach the final. Apart from her batting, her captaincy stood out. After the loss of Ellyse Perry due to hamstring injury, Lanning got the team combination right in the semi-final and final and ensured that she did not miss the services of star all-rounder.
Laura Wolvaardt
Runs: 94 | Average: – | SR: 149.20
Though she did not get too many chances, Laura Wolvaardt converted those limited opportunities into gold. Wolvaardt batted just twice in the World Cup for South Africa. Against Pakistan when her side was in all sorts of trouble struggling at 54/3, Laura absorbed the pressure and then gave Proteas a great boost right towards the end to push them to 136. Her half-century had a big impact on the result as they defeated Pakistan by 17 runs. She once again showed her class when she struck an unbeaten 41 against Australia in the semi-final but her innings went in vain as her side lost by just five runs.
Anya Shrubsole
Wickets: 8| Economy: 6.00
Anya Shrubsole, the English pace spearhead finds a place in the ICC Women’s World T20 team as she was the pick of the bowlers for her side. Shrubsole scalped eight wickets at an economy of run a ball. Her best figures came against Thailand when she struck with 3-21 in her four overs. Shrubsole was quick and hit the right lines and lengths most of the time in the tournament.
Jess Jonassen
Wickets: 10 | Economy: 6.08 | Average: 14.00
The left-arm spinner was in the form of her life going into the World T20. Fresh from a five-wicket haul against India in the final of the T20I tri-series, Jonassen managed to pick up at least one wicket in each and every game during the World T20. She scalped three wickets in the final match of ICC Women’s World T20 to ensure that the defending champions bagged their fifth title.
Sophie Ecclestone
Wickets: 8 | Economy: 3.23 | Average: 6.12
The slow left-arm spinner from England was extremely parsimonious with the ball as she conceded just 49 runs in 91 deliveries that she bowled in the four matches. Sophie Ecclestone boasts of an economy as low as 3.23. She was required to not only contain from one end but also pick up wickets to keep her team in the hunt. Her best performance came in the must-win game against West Indies where she was the wrecker-in-chief picking up 3-7.
Megan Schutt
Wickets: 13 | Economy: 6.33 | Average: 10.30
Megan Schutt had a roller coaster ride in the tournament. In the opening match against India, Schutt was at the receiving end of Shafali Verma’s onslaught as the teenager smashed the Aussie pace spearhead for 16 runs in the first over. Schutt redeemed herself in the final, when she dismissed Verma in the final cheaply. With 13 wickets in the tournament, she finished as the highest wicket-taker.
Poonam Yadav
Wickets: 10 | Economy: 5.95 | Average: 11.90
The Indian leg spinner spun the web not on one but on many occasions to help her side reach the finals of the ICC Women’s World T20 for the very first time. The leggie’s four-wicket haul against Australia in the opening match of the tournament gave a big boost not only to her but also to team India. She followed it up with a three-wicket haul against Bangladesh. Yadav did enough to grab a place in the ICC Women’s World T20 team of the year.
12th: Shafali Verma
Runs: 163 | Average: 32.60 | SR: 158.25
Without even an iota of doubt, Shafali Verma was the biggest find of the tournament. The 16-year old, who is now the number one T20 batter in the world grabbed many eyeballs throughout the World T20 as she exhibited fearless batting right at the top of the order. The child prodigy, in each of the four matches that India played in the group stage, ensured that India went off to a flyer. Though she missed out on scoring big in the final, Verma is undoubtedly a player to look forward to.
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