The 2022 Women’s World Cup witnessed four weeks of gripping action between the eight teams. Australia eventually clinched the title by beating England in the final on Sunday at Christchurch. The Meg Lanning-led team went undefeated in the tournament, clinching Australia’s seventh ODI WC title. There were countless nail-biters, some upsets and some absolute thrashings! […]
The 2022 Women’s World Cup witnessed four weeks of gripping action between the eight teams. Australia eventually clinched the title by beating England in the final on Sunday at Christchurch. The Meg Lanning-led team went undefeated in the tournament, clinching Australia’s seventh ODI WC title.
There were countless nail-biters, some upsets and some absolute thrashings! All in all, the tournament exceeded the expectations, with deserving winners if there ever were. Alyssa Healy was awarded the ‘player of the tournament’ for her sublime performance, especially in the knockouts. There were several impact performers throughout the competition – from Laura Wolvaardt of South Africa to Nat Sciver of England to Hayley Matthews of the West Indies. But the Team of the Tournament can only have 11 players and some players are likely to miss out.
Here we try to compile the Team of the Tournament, based on players’ performance and other factors such as player role and compatibility.
Laura Wolvaardt has been one of the top ODI batters in recent times, averaging 45 and striking at 75 in the last two years. The opening batter was extremely crucial for South Africa in their terrific campaign in the Women’s WC 2022. Wolvaardt was consistent throughout the tournament, scoring 433 runs in eight innings at an average of 54 while striking at 78. She has scored five half centuries in the competition from eight innings and takes her rightful place in the Team of the Tournament.
When Australia crashed out of the 2017 Women’s World Cup, they brought about a change in their approach. Alyssa Healy was one of the driving forces in that change. The destructive batter averages over 50 and strikes at over 100 since she moved up the order.
Healy scored a couple of fifties in the group stage of the 2022 edition – one of which came against India – reliving the memories of the 2020 T20 WC final. Come the big stage, Healy stepped up and hammered 129 off 107 in the semi-final against West Indies. She then topped it off with a magnificent 170 off 138 in the final against England – the highest individual score in any ICC final, men’s or women’s. She also became the only woman to breach the 500-run mark in an ODI WC.
Rachael Haynes has been the ice to Healy’s fire in this world cup cycle, with two Aussie openers complementing each other exceptionally well. The left hander was superb in the Women’s WC 2022, scoring one hundred and three fifties. Haynes started the campaign with a terrific 130 off 131 against England. She then scored 83* against West Indies in the group fixture and 85 against the same opponent in the semi-final. Haynes capped off the tournament with a 68-run knock in the final. Haynes broke the long-standing record for the most runs in a single Women’s WC edition, before Healy surpassed her.
The Megastar Meg Lanning is arguably the best ODI batter the women’s game has ever seen. She has a career average of 53 and strike rate of 92. The Aussie skipper kicked off the tournament with an 86 against England. After a couple of low scores, Lanning bounced back to produce a masterclass against India with a 97 while chasing the highest total in women’s ODI WC. She didn’t miss the hundred in the next game as she blasted an unbeaten 135 off 130, chasing the third highest total in WC history. Lanning’s leadership was commendable and the ODI World Cup title was the only missing piece in her glorious captaincy tenure. She will obviously lead this all-star team.
Meg Lanning leads Australia in the Women’s WC 2022
There were some doubters of Harmanpreet Kaur ahead of the world cup due to her prolonged lean run in the ODI format. But the Indian star shut them up and how. The right hand batter played several impact knocks in the tournament. She scored 71 off 63 against New Zealand in a losing cause before hammering 109 against the West Indies. Kaur then scored a 47-ball 57 against the Aussies. She produced a complete all-round performance in a must-win match against South Africa, scoring 48 and picking 2/42 along with two key run-outs.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s 109 against West Indies in the 2022 Women’s WC
Beth Mooney is a silent killer! She will bleed you and you won’t even realise. The left hander, who averages nearly 50 in the fifty-over format, was exceptional for Australia in the middle order. Mooney ended the tournament with an outstanding average and strike rate of over 100. She gave important finishing touches to Australia’s innings consistently and was only dismissed thrice in nine innings. Mooney capped off the tournament with an outstanding 62 off 47 in the final, being promoted to no. 3 with a set platform.
Marizanne Kapp was the MVP for South Africa in the world cup, producing impactful performances with both bat and ball. The all-rounder snared 5 for 45 against England in the group fixture and scored crucial 32 runs down the order while chasing the target. Kapp produced another ‘player of the match’ performance against New Zealand, picking 2 for 44 and scoring 34 while chasing the target – this time remaining unbeaten. She scored another cameo of 30 against India, where they chased down the second highest total in women’s World Cup.
Hayley Matthews was the star for the West Indies in their inspiring run in the Women’s WC 2022, reaching the semi-final ahead of two pre-tournament favourites. The off-spinning all-rounder was outstanding with both bat and ball, scoring 260 runs and picking 10 scalps. Matthews scored 119 and picked 2 for 41 in the opening game against New Zealand. She then made 45 with the bat and picked 2 for 40 against England. After playing an integral part in beating two of the strongest contenders in the tournament, Matthews went on to claim a career-best 4/15 against Bangladesh.
Sophie Ecclestone became the world no. 1 ODI bowler during the Women’s WC 2022 on the back of some terrific performances. The left arm spinner was instrumental in England’s comeback, which saw them win five matches on the trot. Ecclestone now holds the record for the most wickets by a bowler in a Women’s WC edition, having claimed 21 wickets in the tournament at an excellent average of 15.61. The 22yr old picked five three-wicket hauls in the tournament, registering a career-best 6 for 36 against South Africa in the semi-final.
Sophie Ecclestone’s fiery spell decimates South Africa in the Semis
Shabnim Ismail formed a potent new ball bowling pair with Marizanne Kapp for South Africa and was the leading wicket-taker for the team. The right arm seamer snared 14 wickets in eight games at an average of 17.50. Ismail picked three three-wicket hauls in the tournament – 3/41 against Pakistan, 3/27 against New Zealand and 3/46 against England in the semi-final. The second leading wicket-taker of the world cup takes up the frontline seamer’s place in the Team of the Tournament.
Ayabonga Khaka backed Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail well throughout the tournament. Her pinpoint yorkers were hard to tackle for the batters. The right arm seamer picked 12 wickets from seven innings at an economy of just 5. Khaka started the WC with 4 for 32 against Bangladesh and later claimed 3 for 31 against New Zealand. The 29yr old offers the third seam-bowling option in the Team of the Tournament.
Nat Sciver played one of the all-time great knocks in the World Cup final, keeping England in the game single-handedly with her 148* off 121. Sciver had started the tournament with a bang, scoring an 85-ball 109*. Two unbeaten hundreds in the same tournament against a dominant Australian side is a humongous achievement. Both of her knocks unfortunately ended up on the losing side. In between, Sciver scored a fifty and a couple of handy 40s. She misses out on the first XI of the Team of the Tournament by a narrow margin.
Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Pooja Vastrakar were some of the other players who were mighty impressive in the world cup but couldn’t make the cut for the Team of the Tournament. The team comprises batting depth till no. 10, a couple of quality left handers in the middle order, a versatile seam-bowling trio and a complimentary spin duo.
We’d like to think the Women’s World Cup 2022 Team of the Tournament covers most of the bases and should give any team a run for their money, except maybe the original Australian team.
