It’s been another big year for women’s cricket (is there ever a quiet one, these days?) It began with an Ashes series and a 50-over World Cup in New Zealand, but the highlight was surely a maiden appearance at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Only two Tests were played, though, so this team is an all-format XI – with a slight bias towards Test performances. That perhaps reflects The Spin’s Christmas wish to see more multi-day cricket for women in 2023, please!
1) Alyssa Healy (Australia)
She loves a World Cup final (see also the MCG in March 2020) and England had no answers for Healy’s ridiculously good 170 at Christchurch in April. The highest individual score in any World Cup final (women’s or men’s), it was not just the innings of the year but one of the best of all-time. The rest of 2022 was leaner for Healy than she might have liked, but after her record 509-run haul at the World Cup she’s a no-brainer for inclusion in this team.
2) Beth Mooney (Australia)
Remember Mooney breaking her jaw two weeks before the Ashes and having to have emergency surgery? No? That’s because she played anyway – and hit two half-centuries. She also averaged 101 in ODIs in 2022 (yes, you read that correctly), and top-scored with 61 in the final of the Commonwealth Games. Just call her women’s cricket’s Lara Croft.
3) Alice Capsey (England)
Finally made her international debt in July, aged just 17, by which time her brilliance was probably the worst-kept secret in English cricket. Sealed the deal with a 37-ball half-century against South Africa in only her fourth match for England, becoming the first teenager to achieve the feat since Sarah Taylor. England will be desperate for her to recover from shoulder surgery in time for the World Cup in February.
4) Nat Sciver (England)
Enjoyed a phenomenal year with bat in hand, bookending the World Cup with two centuries against Australia, and scoring an unbeaten 169 in the Test against South Africa. Despite missing the entire India series she still managed to break the record for most ODI runs scored by an English woman in a calendar year (833). She is also a handy first-change bowler, taking 22 wickets across all formats in 2022. Just don’t try to force her to captain, she’s got enough to do already!
5) Harmanpreet Kaur (India), captain
The Spin’s choice of skipper for our team of the year led an India side which exceeded expectations by winning silver at the Commonwealth Games, and then securing a historic 3-0 ODI win away from home against England in September. Also inflicted Australia’s only defeat of the year in Mumbai in December, courtesy of a super over. Remains a potent danger with the bat – her 143 not out at Canterbury was a mammoth onslaught which had more than a few shades of Derby 2017.
6) Amelia Kerr (New Zealand)
After stepping away from cricket to focus on her mental health in mid-2021, Kerr came roaring back to her best in New Zealand’s ODI series against India at the start of 2022, hitting three half-centuries and an unbeaten 119 as the hosts walloped their opponents. Continues to possess the most effective googly in the world, bar none.
7) Tahlia McGrath (Australia)
There are meteoric rises and then there is the career of McGrath. After clawing her way back into the Australia team at the end of 2021, it took the all-rounder only 14 months to reach the top of the ICC’s T20 batting rankings. She was central to her side’s Commonwealth Games triumph, despite contracting Covid before the final. The decision to appoint her vice-captain in November shows just how highly regarded she has become.
8) Marizanne Kapp (South Africa)
Would probably have earned her spot purely for her magnificent 150 against England in the one-off Test at Taunton in June – an astonishing innings given it was Kapp’s (and South Africa’s) first Test since November 2014. Add to the tally a maiden five-wicket haul against England in the World Cup, and an unbeaten 37 off 33 balls in the final of the Hundred to help Oval Invincibles retain their title. The Spin would rather cower in a corner than go up against Kapp in a fight.
9) Sophie Ecclestone (England)
“Because she’s been around a long time and been so consistent, you sometimes forget how good she is and what she’s achieved – you almost take it a bit for granted.” Heather Knight spoke for all of us when she summed up Ecclestone’s contribution to England in 2022, after she broke the record for most wickets taken by a woman in a calendar year (final tally: 56). She also took six for 36 in the World Cup semi-final against South Africa, made some handy contributions with the bat and was temporarily elevated to the England vice-captaincy during a memorable year. Not a bad set of achievements.
10) Jess Kerr (New Zealand)
She may have taken fewer wickets than some, but if you look across all bowling metrics in 2022, the older Kerr sister comes out right at the top – a reward for economy, consistency and Frank Sinatra levels of swing. Missed the Commonwealth Games due to a foot injury, but had a decent Big Bash for Brisbane Heat after she stepped in as cover for first Danni Wyatt and then Pooja Vastrakar.
11) Renuka Singh Thakur (India)
The 26-year-old quick bowler announced herself on the world stage in stunning fashion in the opening match of the Commonwealth Games, single-handedly reducing Australia to 34 for four in a bewitching display of seam movement which did for Healy, Mooney, McGrath and Meg Lanning. Jhulan Goswami may have retired in 2022 but the future of Indian pace bowling is secure in Thakur’s hands.
This is an extract from the Guardian’s weekly cricket email, The Spin. To subscribe, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
