What are the best innings played in Women's World Cup history?
The ones that did not make it
The first World Cup, in 1973, did have a final, but the last league match, between England and Australia at Edgbaston, turned out to be the decider. Enid Bakewell’s 118 in that game (her second hundred of the tournament) gave England the first ever World Cup.
Having last played international cricket in 1979, Lynne Thomas – a member of England’s 1973 world champion squad – returned to lead the International XI at the 1982 World Cup. Chasing 193 against Napier, she carried her bat through the innings with 70 not out in a total of 113 that included seven extras.
Against Ireland at Pune on December 16, 1997, Charlotte Edwards broke the existing world record score in women’s ODIs (Lisa Keightley’s 156 not out). While Edwards’s unbeaten 173 got her the record, Belinda Clark did the same against Denmark at Bombay: she finished on 229 not out, the first double ton in the history of the format.
In their first ever World Cup final, at Centurion in 2005, India had Australia at 31-2 and then 71-3, but at this point Karen Rolton carved out an unbeaten 107, an innings of such authority that the Indians simply withered away, first with the ball, then with the bat.
10. Danni Wyatt (-Hodge) 129 v New Zealand, Christchurch 2022
Having started the World Cup with three defeats in three games, England won four on the bounce to make it to the top four. There, they began cautiously before Wyatt (later Wyatt-Hodge) launched into a strong South African attack: having scored five off her first 13 balls, she kept the attack going even as wickets fell at the other end. By the time she fell, England had 242-5: they eventually made 293-8 before South Africa caved in against Sophie Ecclestone.
9. Mithali Raj 91* v New Zealand, Potchefstroom 2005
Having torn a ligament in her right knee, the young Indian captain went into the World Cup with an injury and led her side to their third consecutive semi-final. Now, coming out at 38-2 under “gloomy skies”, Raj assumed control, running hard (there were only nine fours in her 104-ball 91 not out) to take India to 204-6 against the defending world champions. By the time she was done, her knee was so swollen that she could barely walk and had to leave the ground while fielding. It did not matter: India made it to the final for the first time.
8. Carole Hodges 105* v Australia, Guildford 1993
Having won the three previous editions, Australia were the favourites coming into the World Cup. Here, however, they ran into Hodges, a bespectacled bank clerk who had already become the first England woman to perform an international hat-trick earlier in the tournament. Coming at No.3, Hodges batted through the innings, taking only 46 balls for her second fifty. The defeat eventually resulted in England qualifying – at Australia’s expense – and winning the trophy.
7. Deandra Dottin 60 v Australia, Mumbai 2013
The West Indies needed to win their last Super Sixes match to qualify for the final. That did not seem likely by the time Dottin walked out to bat, at 59-5, but it did not matter: she began with three fours in the first five balls she faced. They soon slumped to 92-7, but Dottin kept the onslaught going: her 67-ball 60 included 46 from boundaries, and came out of 76 the West Indies scored during her stay. They lost the final to Australia, but would have their revenge three years later in the T20 World Cup in the same country.
6. Nat Sciver (-Brunt) 148* v Australia, Christchurch 2022
Years later, when someone looks back at this list, they may wonder what the fuss about this titanic effort was about. Yet, eye-witnesses know why they had sat glued to the action even when all seemed lost once Australia posted 356-5 in a World Cup final and had England at 213-8. Sciver (later Sciver-Brunt). The hundred had taken her 90 balls, but she simply exploded after that, continuing to hit and refusing to give up. When she left the crease, it was not because her teammates had left her stranded. England still needed 72, but it was only the 44th over...
5. Laura Wolvaardt 169 v England, Guwahati 2025
If Sciver’s innings had been an exhibition of unyielding counterattack, Wolvaardt’s pristine masterclass combined aesthetics with purpose to play an innings that knocked England out of the World Cup. She saw out Sophie Ecclestone, who bowled beautifully for her four wickets, but was brutal on anyone else, hitting 20 fours and four sixes in her 141-ball essay. By the time she fell, South Africa were firm favourites (they won easily in the end) – but that did not deter the England fielders from congratulating her.
4. Alyssa Healy 170 v England, Christchurch 2022
Not long before Sciver’s innings, Healy had batted in characteristically punishing mode to hit 26 fours in a 138-ball 170 – till date the highest score in a World Cup final, men’s or women’s. Having come off a 107-ball 129 in the semi-final, Healy continued to plunder runs with ease, this time against the defending champions. Her first fifty took 62 balls, but that was because she was on 15 in 25 balls at one point. Once she got that half-century, she – and Australia – never looked back.
3. Chamari Athapaththu 178* v Australia, Bristol 2017
Perhaps predictably, six of the ten entries (including the top three) have come against Australia. Athapaththu used to be synonymous with the Sri Lanka’s batting line-up for years, and this astonishing innings is the ideal case study for that. Breaking things down may make it easy: Athapaththu hit 22 of Sri Lanka’s 27 fours and all six of their sixes; no one else reached 25; and the other batters managed 60 in 157 balls when her 178 took 143.
2. Jemimah Rodrigues 127* v Australia, Navi Mumbai 2025
Had she not given a couple of chances, Rodrigues would probably have made it to the top of this list. Chasing a world record target of 339, India lost a couple of wickets and were a batter short (three tail-enders instead of the usual two), but Rodrigues ensured they never lost sight of the chase. She paced the chase with near-surgical precision, finding a boundary just when the asking rate remotely threatened to rise, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she had brought up a hundred: the focus had always been on the target. After the game, she admitted to having battled with anxiety throughout the tournament.
1. Harmanpreet Kaur 171* v Australia, Derby 2017
Like the other two Indians on the list, Kaur, too, had her own battles. She had torn a ligament in her right wrist in the Qualifiers and, during the World Cup, dislocated her left ring finger. The latter prevented her from gripping the bat properly, but she batted (and bowled despite that). During India’s must-win last league match against New Zealand, physiotherapist Tracy Fernandes had to rush out, for the finger had become “lifeless”. Oh, and there was also an old shoulder injury.
That was what Kaur was battling when she walked out to bat at 35-2 in the 10th over in a semi-final reduced to 42 overs a side. Perhaps the only blip came at the other end when she and Deepti Sharma had a mix-up while running. The eventual runs got Kaur her hundred, but she celebrated angrily by flinging her helmet on the ground. And then she took her anger out on the Australians by smashing 71 in the next 25 balls to finish on 171 not out off just 115. That day, Kaur hit like a batter possessed: everything she did, worked even against an attack that strong.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
