The Women’s Cricket World Cup begins in New Zealand on Friday after a year’s delay due to the pandemic and Australia are the favorites to lift the trophy.
Here, AFP Sport shows five players to see when the 50-over extravaganza is underway:
Ellyse Perry (Australia)
Ellyse Perry’s status as one of the game’s greats is already secure, but the all-rounder has a point to prove in New Zealand after being shocked by Australia’s Twenty20 squad.
The 31-year-old has rewritten the record books since his debut in 2007 by claiming five T20 World Championships, one Cricket World Cup in 2013 and several domestic honours.
He has also been voted World Player of the Year and World Player of the Decade 2011-2020 thrice in both ODI and T20 formats.
Yet the selectors have turned to budding all-rounders for January’s T20I series against England and Perry will be keen to use the ODI performance to prove that he is far from an expendable force.
Amelia Kerr (New Zealand)
The host nation has famous power hitters in Sophie Devine and Suzy Bates, but Amelia Kerr is the White Ferns’ in-form player going into the World Cup.
Kerr was barely 16 when she made her international debut and hopes were raised when she hit an unbeaten 232 against Ireland in 2018, the highest women’s ODI score of all time.
She took a break from cricket last year, revealing the “bubbly” life on the road during the pandemic has affected her mental health.
The 21-year-old has come back refreshed and is playing the best cricket of her life, scoring 353 runs at an average of 117.7 in her Player of the Series performance against India.
Former New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott said, “Now we are really looking at what she is capable of … In the women’s game, she is probably the best player.”
Bismah Maroof (Pakistan)
Bismah Maroof thought she would have to retire after giving birth last August, instead captaining Pakistan with her daughter in the World Cup.
Maroof, 30, is the first player to take advantage of Pakistan Cricket’s parental assistance policy, which allowed her to bring her mother to New Zealand with her to care for baby Fatima.
“The introduction of the maternal policy has made the game more inclusive for women,” said the left-hander, who has earned 108 caps in an international career spanning 17 years.
“It is a great initiative which will definitely see more girls follow their passion.”
Shafali Verma (India)
India’s teenage batting sensation Shafali Verma has been hailed as a “rock star” by former men’s opener Virender Sehwag for her stellar performances at the top of the order.
Verma enjoyed a stellar 2021, scoring 96 and 63 in the drawn Test with England, then leading India to the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
This was a far cry from 18-year-old Verma’s experiences as a child, when she cut her hair short so that she could play cricket with boys in the conservative northern state of Haryana, where women are not encouraged to participate in the sport. Is. ,
Skipper Mithali Raj believes that Verma, along with women’s player Smriti Mandhana at the other end, can help India win the title after finishing runners-up in the 2017 tournament and last year’s T20 event.
“She is one of the rising stars of the world and I am looking forward to supporting her to make more impressive performances for India throughout the tournament with the guidance and support of the stylish Smriti Mandhana,” Raj said.
Shabnim Ismail (South Africa)
Fast bowler Shabnam Ismail is one of the major reasons why South Africa are regarded as the long shots of the World Cup, though have never progressed beyond the semi-finals before.
South Africa entered the tournament in second place in the world after winning their last five ODI series against India and Pakistan.
Ismail, the country’s leading ODI wicket-taker and fourth-placed international with 164 victims, took four wickets to seal a 2-1 series win over India in Johannesburg last month.
The 33-year-old, nicknamed “The Demon”, is widely regarded as the fastest bowler in women’s cricket, topping 120kph (75mph) consistently.
Ismail cited the unflinching aggression of Andre Nel and Dale Steyn as his inspiration, saying that even his teammates are sometimes intimidated by their intensity.
“A lot of girls in the South African team are afraid to face me,” he told Cricinfo last month.
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