Top 10 all-time great women cricketers

From its inception, the sport of cricket has always been a male dominated sport. There is no doubt, however, that things are changing for the better for women’s cricket in the modern day cricketing set-up. As a result, the likes of Mithali Raj and Sarah Taylor have become familiar names in the sporting arena.

The women’s game has certain differences from the men’s game- the figures and stats are less intense, the boundaries shorter, the weight of the ball lighter but all of this contributes to a more fierce and lesser biased competition between the bat and the ball- the primary contest around which the beloved sport of cricket exists. There have been some extraordinary players in women’s cricket, which makes it very difficult to compile this list.

Here is an attempt to present to you the Top 10 all-time great women cricketers who have played and enriched the sport.

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#1 Rachael Heyhoe-Flint (England, 1960-1982)

Rachel Heyhoe-Flint constantly strived to uplift the status of women’s sport in the world after her retirement

The England team did not lose a single Test Series under Rachael’s captaincy from 1966 to 1978. She led her side to a successful World Cup campaign in the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1973. She has to her credit the distinction of being the first female cricketer to hit a six in Test match cricket.

She averaged above 45 in Tests and above 58 in ODI cricket, a spectacular achievement, keeping in mind the era she played cricket in. She constantly strived to uplift the status of women’s sport in the world after her retirement. She passed away last year aged 77.

#2 Cathryn Fitzpatrick (Australia, 1991-2007)

Cathryn Fitzpatrick appeals

One of the greatest pace bowlers in the history of the sport, Cathryn has the most number of wickets for any Australian woman cricketer. Fitzpatrick took 60 wickets in 13 Tests to add to her tally of 180 ODI wickets in 109 One Day Internationals. She played an extremely significant part in Australia lifting the world cup in 1997 and 2005.

Even in the 2000 World Cup, Fitzpatrick bowled brilliantly, allowing her side to reach the Finals, where they lost to the Kiwis. Alongside her wicket taking ability, Fitzpatrick was extremely economical and the batting team found it very hard to score off her bowling.

#3 Betty Wilson (Australia, 1948-1958)

Betty Wilson was the first cricketer to score a century and take 10 wickets in the same Test

Betty Wilson had to wait for the second World War to get over so that she could represent Australia in International Women’s Cricket. Although the statistics show just 11 Tests alongside her name, she holds a number of scarcely believable records.

One of the greatest all-rounder of the women's sport, Wilson became the first cricketer - both male and female - to score a century and take 10 wickets in the same Test match. She also took the first hat-trick in women’s Test cricket. Wilson breathed her last in 2010.

#4 Debbie Hockley (New Zealand, 1979-2000)

Debbie Hockley was one of the greatest New Zealand cricketers

Hockley still remains one of the greatest New Zealand cricketers, almost 18 years after her retirement. Hockley averaged over 52 in Tests and close to 42 in ODIs, a prolific record for a batter whose career spanned for over 20 years.

She was the first player to reach the 4000 ODI run mark and the first to feature in 100 ODIs as well. She has the most number of World Cup outings to her credit. The Player of the Match in the 1997 World Cup Final, Hockley was instrumental in helping the Kiwis lift the World Cup in 2000, wherein they defeated the Australia in the summit clash.

#5 Stafanie Taylor (West Indies, 2008- present)

Stafanie Taylor is a modern day great

In modern day cricket, Stafanie Taylor from the West Indies is considered to be the greatest all-rounder. A great right handed batter, Taylor can bowl off-break too with considerable amounts of success. Taylor was also the only woman to score three consecutive half centuries in three Twenty20 Internationals.

Primarily a batting all-rounder ,Taylor has an outstanding batting average of well over 43 in ODIs and over 37 in the shortest format of the game. She was awarded the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the year in 2011 and became the first West Indian woman to receive the honor.

#6 Mithali Raj (India, 1999-present)

Mithali Raj is one of the greatest that there will be

Captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket team, Mithali Raj is widely considered as the best batter of all time. With over 8000 International runs and still counting, Mithali is a batting genius from India. Right from her debut in 1999, where she scored an outstanding century, Mithali hasn't left any chance of impressing one and all with her batting heroics.

In only her third Test, at the age of 19, Mithali broke the then world record by scoring 214 runs against England. She has become the face of Indian Women’s Cricket in the country in the past few years. Mithali led the team to World Cup Final in 2005 and played a key role in the Team reaching the Finals again in 2017. She received the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2003.

#7 Sarah Taylor (England, 2006-present)

Sarah Taylor is unarguably the best wicket-keeper that women's cricket has ever seen

Unarguably the best wicket-keeper that women’s cricket has ever seen, Sarah Taylor is also the youngest female to reach 1000 ODI runs. Taylor was a key member of the England squad, which won the World Cup last year as well as the T20 World in 2009.

Despite her start and stop career, Taylor has over 6000 international runs and some remarkable catches to her credit as a wicket-keeper. Taylor also became the first woman to play grade cricket in Australia in 2015.

#8 Belinda Clark (Australia, 1991-2005)

Belinda Clark- the superwoman from Australia

“The first man on the planet to reach to 200 and it is the superman from India”, Ravi Shastri had famously said on the live cricket broadcast when Sachin Tendulkar became the first male cricketer to score a double hundred in ODIs.

But, Tendulkar had achieved that feat 13 years after this superwoman from Australia, who goes by the name of Belinda Clark, had achieved the same. She was the captain of the Australian side from 1994 to 2005 and she led the side to two World Cup triumphs and a runners-up spot on one occasion. Clark averaged over 45 in both ODIs and Test Cricket and is one of Australia’s leading run scorer in ODIs.

#9 Charlotte Edwards (England, 1996-2016)

England Women v India Women - Royal London ODI

England’s best phase of cricket came under Charlotte’s captaincy, where she led England to a World Cup triumph, a World T20 triumph and three Ashes successes during her stint as captain between 2005 and 2016. A prolific batsman, Charlotte became the youngest English woman to represent England on the cricket field. She was the first cricketer to go past 2500 T20I runs and held the record for the highest individual score of 173 in ODIs for a long time. Edwards had a healthy average in all three forms of the game - 44.10 in Tests, 38.16 in ODIs and 32.97 in T20Is.

#10 Jhulan Goswami (India, 2002-present)

Jhulu di, as she is called, was the first woman cricketer to pick up 200 wickets

One of the fastest women bowlers in the world of cricket, Jhulan Goswami is known for her all-round abilities. The ICC Women Cricketer of the Year in 2007, Jhulan has 200 ODI wickets, 40 Test Wickets and 50 T20 wickets at a commendable average.

An economy of 3.24 in ODIs and 2.02 in Tests makes her one of the best in the world. She became the highest wicket taker in Women’s ODI history after she surpassed none other than Cathryn Fitzpatrick.