Picking the best women's T20I XI of 2023 ft. Deepti Sharma
The Australia women's team once again dominated T20Is in 2023 and won their sixth World Cup in the shortest format.
The T20 format has also taken women's cricket by storm, and 2023 witnessed the highest-ever total in the shortest format for women's cricket (427 for the loss of one wicket). The said feat was achieved by Argentina Women against Chile Women on October 13, 2023.
There were a few impressive performances by women cricketers in T20Is in 2023. On that note, here is a look at the best women's T20I 11 of 2023.
Top order - Laura Woolvaardt, Chamari Athapaththu and Alyssa Healy
Laura Woolvaardt was the highest run-getter at the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 (230 runs from 6 innings). She was instrumental in taking South African women to the finals of the tournament.
Unfortunately, they ended up as runners-up, but Woolvaardt was exceptional throughout the tournament. She was the second-highest run-getter in WT20Is in 2023, having scored 586 runs in 16 innings at an average of 45.07.
Chamari Athapaththu has been a run-machine at the top of the order for Sri Lanka Women. She had an exceptional year with the bat in 2023, and in the shortest format, she scored 470 runs from 16 innings at a strike rate of 130.91. She scored three half-centuries in 2023 in WT20Is.
Alyssa Healy was the fourth-highest run-getter (189 runs) in the T20 World Cup 2023 and more often than not got her team off to a flyer, especially in the power-play overs.
Her 321 T20I runs in 2023 were scored at a strike rate of 133.75 in 11 innings. Apart from her batting, Healy was impressive behind the stumps and a safe wicket-keeping option.
Middle order - Suzie Bates, Beth Mooney and Nat Sciver-Brunt
Suzie Bates had an impressive run with the bat for New Zealand Women in WT20Is in 2023. She scored 435 runs in 13 innings, including four half-centuries, at an average of almost 40. Even at 36, she is a valuable asset for New Zealand Women and an inspiration for young women to take up the sport.
Beth Mooney was named Player of the Match in the finals of the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 for her match-winning half-century (74*). Overall, Mooney had a purple patch with the bat in 2023, scored 410 runs at an average of 41, and scored four half-centuries in 11 innings.
Nat Sciver-Brunt was the second-highest run-getter in the Women's T20 World Cup 2023. She scored 216 runs at an impressive average of 72 in five innings. In 2023, she played 10 WT20Is and scored 364 runs at an average of 45.50 and an astounding strike rate of 135.82 with three fifty-plus scores.
All-rounders - Hayley Matthews and Ashleigh Gardner
Hayley Matthews had the best of 2023 with both the bat and the ball. She was the top run-getter in women's cricket in the shortest format in 2023. She scored 700 runs in 14 innings at an average of 63.63 and a staggering strike rate of 132.32. She scored one century and four half-centuries and was a consistent run-getter for the West Indies in 2023.
The all-rounder also picked up 19 wickets with the ball in WT20Is in 2023 at an average of 16.21. Due to her all-round excellence with both the bat and the ball, Matthews captains this team and is one of the top contenders for Women's Cricketer of the Year in the shortest format.
Ashleigh Gardner, too, was impressive and a valuable asset for Australia, both with the bat and ball. She was the second-highest joint wicket-taker in the Women's T20 World Cup 2023, picking up 10 wickets, and was named the Player of the Tournament.
Overall, she picked up 17 wickets in 2023 at an average of 19.70. With the bat, she scored 234 runs at a strike rate of 121.24 and won matches for Australia with her all-round skills in 2023.
Bowlers - Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone and Megan Schutt
Deepti Sharma is the only Indian to make it to this team. Sharma was accurate with the ball and at her miserly best, and she had an impressive economy rate of 5.79 in 19 matches.
She also picked up 21 wickets in the said 19 matches at an average of 16.38 and was an integral part of the Indian team in 2023.
Sophie Ecclestone was at her very best in WT20Is in 2023 and ended up with 23 wickets in 2023. The said wickets came at an impressive average of 10.60 and a more impressive economy rate of 5.65.
She was the highest wicket-taker in the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 (11) and had a fruitful year in the shortest format with the ball.
The Aussie fast-medium pacer Megan Schutt made her presence felt in 2023. In 14 matches, she picked up 21 wickets at an average of 15.57 and an economy rate of 6.81.
She picked up her maiden five-wicket haul in T20Is (5-15) against Pakistan earlier this year and was at her lethal best and the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the Women's T20 World Cup 2023.