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The ICC Women's World Cup starts on March 4 in New Zealand. The opening fixture is New Zealand Women vs West Indies Women at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.
England Women are the defending champions of the World Cup. They beat India Women by nine runs at Lord’s in the 2017 edition of the tournament.
Let's take a look at three players to watch out for at this edition of the World Cup.
#3 Amelia Kerr (New Zealand)
The 20-year-old Kiwi all-rounder made her debut way back in 2016 and has set the stage on fire ever since. In 46 ODIs, Kerr has scored 1039 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 92. She holds the record for the highest individual score in ODI Women's history - 232*(145) vs Ireland Women in Dublin, 2018.
Kerr is also a world-class wrist-spinner, having picked up 67 wickets at an economy rate of 4.60. She took 10 wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 4.40 and finished as New Zealand's joint-highest wicket-taker in the 2017 World Cup.
Kerr batting at No. 3 offers the New Zealand unit a lot of flexibility. The fact that she can bowl eight to ten overs on a regular basis allows the White Ferns to play an extra bowler and strengthen their playing XI. She has been in magnificent form off-late, scoring 353 runs and taking seven wickets against India in the ODI series in February.
#2 Harmanpreet Kaur (India)
Indian all-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur was one of the best batters at the previous World Cup in England. She is remembered by fans for playing one of the best knocks by any Indian in World Cup cricket - 171* vs Australia in the 2017 semi-final.
However, Kaur's recent form hasn't been impressive. After the last World Cup, she has played 33 matches and scored 639 runs at an average of 28 and a strike rate of just 69. This isn't the type of record one associates with an aggressive and stroke-making batter like her.
Kaur has done well for India in the last two matches ahead of the WC. She scored 104 vs South Africa Women in the warm-up match, coming in to bat at 119/3 in the 26th over. She played another crucial knock vs New Zealand Women in the final ODI, scoring 63 (66) in a 250+ run-chase. Kaur will be hoping that she can take this newly-discovered form into the tournament.
#1 Alyssa Healy (Australia)
Alyssa Healy is arguably one of the best cricketers in the world right now. She made her Women's ODI debut way back in 2010 against New Zealand Women. She has played 85 matches since then, scoring 2130 runs at an average of 34 and a strike rate of 99. Healy's wicket-keeping skills are also top-notch.
Healy used to bat in the lower order until 2017. Batting at 7, she scored 98 runs in five innings at an average of 33 and a strike rate of 148 at the 2017 Women's World Cup. However, she was promoted up the order as the opener after Australia crashed out in the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Ever since then, Healy has become the undisputed best batter in the world. She has scored 1635 runs at an average of 51 and a strike rate of 102 - offering consistency at an incredible scoring rate.
Australia are going into the tournament as the overwhelming favorites and Healy will have to step up if they are to live up to that tag.
