In the last decade, women’s cricket has undergone a metamorphosis, unfolding its wings into unexpected corners, enthusing some of the most sceptical hearts and making marketing managers wide-eyed with its potential. In 2010 the world’s leading female cricketers were largely amateur; now Australia, England, India and New Zealand have fully professional national teams, with others on the way.
With professionalism has come coaches and time, and with time has come huge improvements – particularly in the realms of fitness, fielding and sixes hit. The limited‑overs game has come to dominate and the rewards have grown substantially – the winners of the Twenty20 World Cup next year will take home $1m. The 2017 World Cup final at Lord’s, a gamechanger for women’s cricket, was the year’s most-watched game of cricket on UK television. So here, with a glass full in celebration, is The Spin’s women’s ODI team of the decade …
Charlotte Edwards (England) England’s greatest batter of the modern era, a run-compiler of the highest order, her career spanned 20 years. As captain she won back-to-back Ashes series in 2013 and 2014, and the following year was awarded her first professional contract – hearing about it was such a shock she nearly crashed her car. She was also one of Wisden’s five cricketers of the year in 2014, but was dropped two years later, after England lost against Australia in the World T20 semi-final, a victim of the new “no excuses” professional culture. Despite temporary despair, she has moved seamlessly into coaching and media appearances.
Suzie Bates (New Zealand) Another magnificent captain, this time for New Zealand, who stepped down in 2018 after nearly seven years in the job. An incredible athlete – she also represented New Zealand at the Beijing Olympics on the basketball court – her work ethic has shone nearly as much as her run-getting and her more than handy medium pace. She is New Zealand’s leading run scorer in one-day internationals and fifth on the all-time list.
Meg Lanning (Australia) Another collector of records. In 2011 she became the youngest male or female Australian to score an ODI century; in 2012 she smashed the record for the fastest ODI century by an Australian and in 2014, aged 21, she was handed the captaincy. She was, inevitably, Australia’s youngest. Under her leadership, Australia have won the T20 World Cup twice and have just broken the record for consecutive wins in ODIs – 18 – surpassing the achievements of Belinda Clark’s great team.
Ellyse Perry (Australia) A woman who does it all – opens the bowling, fields like a gazelle and scores effortless runs in the middle order. An integral cog in Australia’s ODI and T20 World Cup wins this decade, she has been called the “greatest female cricketer we’re ever going to see” by Charlotte Edwards. Certainly she reigns supreme as the best female cricketer currently on the planet. Football’s loss (she was playing for the Matildas at 16) has been cricket’s joy.
Mithali Raj (India) Near impossible to choose between Raj and her teammate with the big-match temperament Harmanpreet Kaur, who made the innings of the 2017 World Cup. In the end, Raj – the leading ODI scorer with nearly 7,000 at more than 50 – gets the vote for her longevity, steely temperament and silky stroke play.
Stafanie Taylor (West Indies) West Indies’ leading ODI run-scorer has been a trailblazer for her country from the day she scored a 49-ball 90 in her first T20 international as a teenager. She led West Indies to triumph at the 2016 T20 World Cup – finishing as leading scorer and player of the tournament. She sits pretty in the International Cricket Council rankings, second in both the batting and all-rounder categories.
Sarah Taylor (England) Widely feted as the best wicketkeeper in the game, the swift-gloved Taylor announced her retirement in the summer after struggling with anxiety issues for most of her career. No woman has come near to her 232 dismissals across all formats and she is also second on England’s list of all‑time run-scorers. England will miss her dearly.
Dane van Niekerk (South Africa) A leg-spinner with a tweak to die for, and a biffing top-order hitter, Van Niekerk’s considerable bowling skills are backed up by calm leadership after she took over the South African captaincy in 2016. She was the first woman to take a hat-trick for South Africa.
Jhulan Goswami (India) The leading ODI wicket-taker in women’s cricket with 225, Goswami has been a giant, in every sense, of India’s side since 2002. She has collected her wickets with speed and guile, moving the ball off the pitch and occasionally getting it to spit. At 37, she still runs in with the same enthusiasm.
Megan Schutt (Australia) Terrorises the opposition with the swinging ball, and consistently hovers around the top of the ICC bowling rankings. In September Schutt became the first Australian woman to take an ODI hat‑trick; she was also the first Australian to take a hat-trick in a T20 international. But it is the red ball she likes best, even if she has played only four Tests. “The red ball moves, it’s lovely,” she said in England this summer.
Katherine Brunt (England) English cricket’s darling, especially after her recent engagement to teammate Nat Sciver, Brunt’s unstinting, big-hearted, gut-busting efforts for England have carried the attack for years. She has swapped some speed for accuracy and a selection box of skills, and her sometimes badly concealed irritation at fielding fumbles make her addictive watching. She can wallop a few with the bat, too.
• This is an extract taken from the Spin, the Guardian’s weekly cricket email. To subscribe, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
