Penpix of 10 leading players at the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup cricket tournament, which starts in Australia on Friday:
Ellyse Perry (Australia)
The face of the tournament, hard-hitting all-rounder Perry has a Test double century to her name and anchors Australia’s attack as a fast-medium bowler. Her raw speed has dropped but she varies her delivery angles and pace to produce devastating spells with the ball.
Alyssa Healy (Australia)
The wicketkeeper/batswoman was player of the tournament in 2018 with 225 runs at an average of 56.25. At her most consistent while opening. Owns the world record high score of 148 not out but managed just 15 runs over five matches in the recent tri-series involving England and India.
Sophie Devine (New Zealand)
Originally a bowler who could bat, Devine’s batting has surpassed her talents with the ball. The hard-hitting New Zealand captain became the first player, man or woman, to pass 50 in five successive T20 internationals earlier this month.
Suzie Bates (New Zealand)
The world’s top-ranked Twenty20 batswoman and top run-scorer, she is also New Zealand’s highest run-scorer in both limited-overs formats. A proficient and elegant stroke maker works the ball around the field to build scoreboard pressure.
Dane van Niekirk (South Africa)
She made her international debut as a 15-year-old and has been captain since 2016. The influential leg-spinning all-rounder demands high standards from a team that has underperformed. She has recovered from a stress fracture of the femur that kept her out of the team for much of 2019.
Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)
West Indies leading run-scorer in limited-overs cricket. A steady accumulator of runs at the top of the order, she will need to be at her best in a team that arrived in Australia on the back of nine successive T20 losses, most of which came while she was out injured.
Sophie Ecclestone (England)
Made her international debut aged 17 and now aged 20 she is considered somewhat of a veteran in the squad. A tall, accurate and economical left-arm orthodox spinner, she extracts bounce and delivers the ball from unorthodox angles, making her tough to pick and to getaway.
Natalie Sciver (England)
The first England player to take a T20 international hat-trick, the 27-year-old is a true all-rounder having also excelled at soccer and basketball growing up. A skiddy medium pacer, she holds the middle order together by rotating the strike and knowing when to attack.
Shafali Verma (India)
One of the hardest hitters in the game, the opener became the youngest woman to play a T20 for India last year at the age of 15 and then the youngest Indian to score an international half-century with 73 against West Indies. Only turned 16 last month and such is her talent and ball striking that Australia coach Matthew Mott says India now have the best top four in women’s cricket.
Radha Yadav (India)
A close friend of batswoman Jemimah Rodrigues since their early teens, the left-arm finger spinner is ranked the second-best T20 women’s bowler in the world after tormenting West Indies in the Caribbean last year. Part of a formidable spin attack with off-spinner Deepti Sharma and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav.
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