The last edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup held in Australia saw the Host taking the championship trophy in a one-sided Finals against India in 2020

The story looks likely to be the same in February when the eighth ICC Women’s T20 World Cup tournament will be held in South Africa between 10^th – 26^th of February 2023

While Australia is now the defending T20 and ODI champs, very few teams come even close to beating this champion side. India is the only team who has come close to challenging the mighty Aussies

So will we see a repeat of the 2020 finals or can we see some surprises this time around in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup?

In the women’s game, there are three levels of team. Australia is clearly the leading team and occupies level one position.  The next level is the trio of India, England and New Zealand and the third level comprises the Rest of the teams like West Indies, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Till the Knock out Stages of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, unless there are some drastic upsets, the top 4 teams will qualify and reach the next stage in the competition with relative ease

Barring Ireland and Bangladesh all teams qualified for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup championship automatically

Group A

No	Team	Pld	W	L	T	NR	Pts	NRR
1	Australia	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
2	Bangladesh	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
3	New Zealand	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
4	South Africa	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
5	Sri Lanka	0	0	0	0	0	0	—

Group B

No	Team	Pld	W	L	T	NR	Pts	NRR
1	England	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
2	India	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
3	Ireland	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
4	Pakistan	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
5	West Indies	0	0	0	0	0	0	—

Two teams from each team will qualify for the semi-finals stage. As mentioned, in all likely hood it’s the top 4 nations who will qualify here unless the host nation South Africa can topple either Australia or New Zealand to be the fourth qualifier

In Group B, India and England are the clear favourites to move to the knockouts. India and England will be looking at topping the group to avoid Australia in the Semi-finals. England was able to get hold of the 2017 ODI World Cup only because India beat Australia in the Semis with the Harmanpreet Kaur Show. India eventually lost to England by 9 runs in the Finals. A similar scenario is what England players may hope for in the T20 finals as well.

This ICC world cup will see domination from Batters and spinners. Teams with good hard hitters and spinners will rule the ICC tournament.

Top 10 Players to look out for in this Women’s T20 World Cup              

1. Beth Mooney

This stylish South Paw knows to perform on the big stage and the 29-year-old will be amongst the top players in the World Cup. Her current form is great and very consistent. She can take the wicketkeeping role whenever the team needs and an ideal backup for Alyssa Healy who is currently having some injury concerns. She will be in everybody’s Top 10 Players list due to her consistency batting.

2. Tahlia Mc Grath

From debuting as a replacement player to the injured Elysse Perry to becoming the leading allrounder in the Aussie side is a dream player every captain would love to have in their team

Her 4 overs and middle-over hard-hitting will be a go-to player for Meg Lanning

Her bowling in the powerplay will prove crucial

3. Nat Sciver

Natalie Ruth Sciver was the first English Player to take a hat trick in T20I. She is famous to have invented the nutmeg shot in cricket. She is captain in waiting and leads the team when Heather is unavailable. She is considered amongst the best all round player in the world and the game is never over when she is on crease. She gives England consistent run with the bat and bowls the crucial 4 overs. While Bowling she bowls the powerplay and the death overs

4. Shafali Verma

This 18-year sensation will be a more dangerous batter from her last outing. With age and experience, Shafali has improved her bowling skills too and can be a useful 1-2 over bowler. Her Opening Batting with Smriti Mandhana holds the key and her quick-fire starts will help India post a defendable total more often than not. One criticism of her batting is that she does not value her wicket and most times throws her wicket away.

   5. Smriti Mandhana

The darling of the Indian team, there is no better batter in world cricket than Smriti Mandhana. She relies a lot on boundary hitting and probably the reason she hardly drops a sweat scoring big runs which she makes quite consistently for her team. Smriti’s consistency is key if India has to reach the finals again. Her batting in a chase in South African condition will be crucial.

6. Amelia Kerr

From being a leggie to now being a complete allrounder Amelia Kerr is now New Zealand’s go-to player. She gives the captain the difficult 4 overs and picks up crucial wickets. The bounce in South Africa will help Amelia. Amelia has worked very hard on her batting and is now very consistent with it. she can come into the team on her batting alone as she can as a Women’s T20 bowler. 

7. Sophie Devine

Sophie Devine started as a fast bowler and even batted at No11, developed her game to become a leading allrounder in world cricket and one of the most dangerous T20 player who holds the record for 5 consecutive T20 50s.

In batting, She gives the team a quick start as an opener and makes use of the powerplay period. She bowls when needed and is the captain of the talented New Zealand team. She can be in team as She can easily enter the team as a Women’s T20 batter alone

8. Hayley Mathews

One of the best All-rounders in women’s cricket will be a key player for West Indies. She has come out of the shadows of Deandra Dottin and Stefanie Taylor and has made her own space. With the recent shocking retirement of Dottin, Hayley has that extra pressure to perform. Recent form has shown that she can spearhead the West Indies Batting and may have the role to play the long innings for the team. Her 4 overs of off-spin and her swashbuckling opening bat will be key if West Indies has to qualify to the knockouts in a group which includes England and India

9. Nida Dar

An Underrated player in the women’s game, but she is in my view the best women’s allround International in the game. She can turn the game single-handedly both with bat and ball. She has recently started batting higher than her usual place which will be good for the team This is a great opportunity for this talented player to show her true skills on this platform. She is a surprise entry in the list of Top 10 Players but she is a player who can single handedly change the complexion of the game

10. Marizanne Kapp

Marizanne Kapp is a natural athlete and like Sophie Devine of New Zealand have become a world-class all-round International after starting her career as a bowler. She is the mainstay of the South African unit and extremely competitive. She has a T20I hat trick and also plays in the big bash league. She holds the record for highest individual score in World cups for South Africa. She can easily enter the team as a Women’s T20 bowler or as a Women’s T20 batter alone  

Leading Women’s Cricketer T20 Bowlers 2023

Tahlia Mc Grath

For 2023, Based on the ICC Ranking, Tahlia Mc Grath of Australia with 803 Ranking points lead the pack followed by Beth Mooney (765) and India’s Smriti Mandhana (731)

The leading Run Scorer of all time is Suzi Bates of New Zealand with 3683 Runs.

Leading Women’s Cricketer T20 Bowlers 2023

Sophie Ecclestone

For 2023, Based on the ICC Ranking,  Sophie Eccelstone is the leading Women’s Bowlers with 763 Ranking points. She is also the leading Bowler in the ODI Format making her one of the current Best Bowler in the limited over format. In T20 format, Sophie is followed by India’s Deepti Sharma (737) and Nonkululeko Mlaba (732)

The Leading Wicket Taker in T20 Format is Anisa Mohammed of West indies with 125 Wickets

FAQs

• Who is the No.1 T20 Batsman in Women’s Cricket

Ans. Currently, Tahlia Mc Grath from Australia

• Who is the highest scorer in women’s Cricket

Ans.Suzie Bates of New Zealand has scored the most runs in Women’s T20 International (3683)

• Where is the next women’s T20 World Cup

Ans.The next women’s T20 World Cup is in South Africa, with three venues set to host 23 fixtures

• Who made the fastest Century in Women’s T20 history

Ans.Deandra Dottin of the West Indies scored 112 not out against South Africa in the opening match of the 2010 ICC Women’s World Twenty2.

Dottin’s century was scored in only 38 deliveries with a strike rate of 248