This edition of the global tournament is bigger and better than ever before, with women’s cricket having made big strides in recent years. The man who is responsible for producing a high-quality ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 is Steve Elworthy, the former South African medium-pacer.
He promised to take the 11th edition of the Women’s World Cup to next level, and in an interview threw around words like ‘incredible’ when discussing the event. A glance through some of the elements added to the tournament certainly makes it seem quite, well, incredible.
“
“It’s a real turning point for the women’s game because we are delivering a World Cup that’s at par with the men’s event. That is absolutely incredible.” – Steve Elworthy
”
The criticism that women’s cricket face is something which bothers the entire cricket fraternity. Keeping in mind this factor the ICC has raised the prize money to $2 million, ten times the amount handed out at the last edition, in 2013. The venues the latest edition will play out at are County Ground in Taunton, the home of women’s cricket in England, County Ground in Bristol, a One-Day International venue, first-class venues at Grace Road and County Ground, Derby, and the final will be at Lord’s.
When it comes to records in the world cup, there are some which are being made and some which are not yet broken, but in this edition, women from all the countries would be looking forward to set new records. Here is the list of some records which is worth knowing:
1) Most Hundreds – The record for most hundreds in World Cups belongs to Englishwoman Charlotte Edwards. The 37 year old has held the record with 4 hundreds for a good amount of time. Edwards, who announced her retirement last year in May, is on the verge of losing that top spot as Suzie Bates from New Zealand is all set to dethrone her. Bates has already scored a hundred in her first match of the tournament, is one of the strongest contenders to cross that mark in this world cup.
2) Most Runs – When it comes to scoring runs in a tournament like world cup, a lot of players panic and can’t perform well. But there is one woman from New Zealand who has kept her cool throughout and enjoyed a very profitable relationship with World Cup: Debbie Hockley, who tops the list of leading run scorers in World Cups.
This New Zealander scored 1,501 runs in 45 matches that she played with a decent average of 42.88. There is no one really close to her who can bother her record but then at the same time there is Team India captain, Mithali Raj who is the only player on that list who is not retired. Mithali Raj has scored 801 runs so far in world cups and will have to play out of her skin in the remaining matches to at least reach a little close to it. Keeping in mind the fact that cricket is a funny game, anything can happen, nothing is impossible.
3) Most Ducks – If there is something good then there will be something bad. This is the statement which very well applies in the 11th edition of ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. Getting out for a duck is the worst feeling for any batter in the world. The record for most ducks in world cups is with Susanne Neilsen, who got out 6 times for a duck while playing for Denmark.
Another woman who is slowly chasing her is LE Kaushalya from Sri Lanka, a part of Sri Lankan team in this world cup. Kaushalya has been dismissed for a duck 4 times and is just behind Neilsen. She can certainly achieve that record in coming days.
4) Most Wickets – Lyn Fullston, a slow left-arm bowler from Australia, holds the record for most wickets in World Cup history. She has taken 39 wickets in 20 matches with best bowling figures of 5/27. The only woman who is close behind her is Jhulan Goswami. Goswami will have her work cut out for her, as she taken 26 wickets so far. She will have to take 14 wickets in the remaining matches of the tournament to go past Fullston.
5) Highest Total – The hold on cricket that the Australian team showed to the world is something worth praising. Both men and women have demolished almost every team and showed their dominance whenever World Cup cricket was involved.
The 6-times world champions Australia registered the highest total in world cup history when they scored 412/3 against the Denmark women back in 1997. Their dominance is shown by the fact that after 20 years, the record is still with them. Every team will be looking to break this record in this edition.
6) Lowest Total – We have seen the highest total that has been made by the Australian team in 1997 but there is one team who has the record of lowest total in world cup history: Pakistan. It was an incident that took place in 1997 when the Pakistan women team was bundled out for just 27 by the Aussie women. The record is still with them and they will be hoping to pass that awful record on to some other team in this year’s edition.
Talking about all the records that are being set by various Women in the biggest global tournament- World Cup, the ICC has put all the perks in place for this year’s edition of Women’s World Cup. The ICC has also underscored its interest and focus in women’s cricket, giving it the respect and place it deserves.
The state of women’s cricket is still not ideal, but an ideal and equal state is achievable if cricket bodies, sponsors and audiences play their part.
Fast. Lite. Innovative. Shareable. Download our HW Cricket App, for Android and iOS!