Five players to watch out for at the Women's Cricket World Cup 2022

The Women's Cricket World Cup (CWC) is all set to get underway in New Zealand from 4th March, 2022. The 12th edition of the Women's ODI Cup was delayed last year due to the covid pandemic.

Eight teams in the tournament will be fighting for the ultimate price in a round-robin format. The top four teams in the table will play in the semi-finals. The first-place team will play fourth, while the second and third will play each other in the second semi-final.

Six venues will play host to 31 matches in the competition. These are Hagley Oval in Christchurch, University Oval in Dunedin, Eden Park in Auckland, Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, Basin Reserve in Wellington, and Seddon Park in Hamilton. The semi-finals will be played in Christchurch and Wellington, with the latter hosting the final as well.

England are the defending champions after they clinched a nine-run victory against India in the 2017 final. They extended their World Cup tally to four with that win. Australia will once again carry the tag of the favorites as they look to hunt for their seventh title.

The hosts, New Zealand, won the tournament back in 2000, when they last hosted the competition. For India, this is the year they will be hoping their elusive World Cup run comes to an end.

On that note, let's take a look at five players to watch out for in the upcoming tournament.

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#5 Sophie Ecclestone

England's metronome, Sophie Ecclestone will be one to watch out for at the World Cup.

The England bowler is ranked second in the Women's ODI rankings and will be the heartbeat of their bowling unit once more. Sophie Ecclestone is regarded as one of the best bowlers in the world due to her metronomic ability to strangle opposition batters.

Since their 2017 World Cup triumph at Lord's, Ecclestone has taken 52 wickets at a misely economy rate of 3.6. In that period, only South Africa's Shabnam Ismail has taken more wickets.

She will have plenty of support as well from the likes of Katherine Brunt, Nat Sciver and Kate Cross. England's metronome will hold the aces for her bowling unit in the upcoming World Cup.

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#4 Harmanpreet Kaur

The veteran Indian all-rounder has been on the receiving end of plenty of criticism recently. After a dull run in international cricket, Harmanpreet Kaur was back to her best in the recent Women's Big Bash League.

She became the first Indian to win the player of the tournament award in the WBBL as she starred with the Melbourne Renegades. The 32-year-old scored 399 runs in the tournament, also bagging 15 wickets in the regular season.

However, she has struggled to find her form in international cricket, with ordinary batting performances in recent times. However, Kaur has managed to click into gear at just the right time for India.

The all-rounder from Moga notched up a tidy 63 against New Zealand in the final ODI of the five-match series recently. She built on that momentum, scoring a century against South Africa in a World Cup warm-up match last week.

Kaur's timely return to form stands as a huge positive for India. The nation will hope to overcome their heartbreaking defeat in the 2017 World Cup final on their quest for their first World Cup title.

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#3 Deandra Dottin

On her day, Deandra Dottin is perhaps one of the most dangerous all-rounders in the game.

West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin is well known for her aggressive and flamboyant batting approach. In 2010, she became the first player to score a century in the Women's T20Is, achieving the feat in just 38 deliveries.

The fearless all-rounder scored 460 runs at 38.3 in 13 innings in ODIs in 2021, the fourth-most runs of any batter. She has also hit the most boundaries (83) and the most sixes (13) in women's ODI cricket since 2020.

The Barbados player is coming into the tournament on the back of a swashbuckling 150 against South Africa last month. It was her highest score in ODI cricket.

Alongside her skipper Stafanie Taylor, Dottin will hope to lead the Caribbean island to World Cup glory.

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#2 Tahlia McGrath

Tahlia McGrath could be the pivotal cog in Austrlia's quest for their seventh World Cup title.

Australia are one of the most dominant outfits in the women's cricket era. While the exploits of Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry are well-known tales, Tahlia McGrath is starting to grow into her own.

The all-rounder has been one of the standout players for Australia. She has proven her worth as a bonafide match-winner on a number of occasions lately. Most recently, she was the highest wicket-taker in the Women's Ashes ODI series, with six wickets to her name.

With the bat as well, McGrath has been colossal for her side. She could do no wrong during India's tour of Australia last year and has only gone from strength to strength. Amongst her teammates, only Beth Mooney (63.2) has a better batting average in women’s ODIs than McGrath (42.3) since the beginning of 2021.

The all-rounder from South Australia is certainly following in the legendary footsteps of her teammate, Ellyse Perry. Perhaps this could be the tournament where McGrath grows out of Perry's shadow and gets into her own.

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#1 Amelia Kerr could be the best player of this year's Women's World Cup

Currently the most in-form player on the women's cricket circuit, Amelia Kerr is already an early contender for the Player of the Tournament. The 21-year-old was promoted to the No. 3 slot in the recent ODI series against India. She scored a century and three half-centuries in five outings.

Kerr continued fine run-scoring form in the World Cup warm-up games, registering a blistering 92 off 75 balls a daunting target of 321 against Australia. The Wellington all-rounder boasts the highest score in women's ODI history, scoring 232* against Ireland in 2018.

Don't forget, she's an effective operator with her canny leg-breaks as well. After opting out of last year's England tour to prioritize her mental health, Kerr is back like she never left. The youngster will be a key component of the White Ferns unit in their quest for their second World Cup title.