2022 in Review: Wisden’s women’s T20I Team of the Year

With 2022 coming to a close, a team of Wisden.com writers have picked out Wisden’s women’s T20I Team of the Year, part of the 2022 in Review series.

2022 saw women’s T20I cricket included in the Commonwealth Games for the first time, Australia emerging as the champions after defeating India in the final. With a World Cup coming up in less than two months time, the end of the year saw teams gearing up for the competition, with England dominating the West Indies and Australia and India competing in a thrilling bilateral series. Four Indians and three Australians make up the bulk of this team, but with notable representatives from Ireland, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan.

2022 in Review: Wisden’s women’s T2oI Team of the Year – the selections

Stats in bold refer to 2022 only

1. Beth Mooney – Australia

14 T20Is, 449 runs at 56.12, SR: 134.43, 4 50s

Two mammoth innings against India stand out from Beth Mooney’s 2022 in T20Is. Striking at over 150 in both innings, the second saw her become the fastest ever player to pass 2,000 runs in women’s T20Is, surpassing Stafanie Taylor by one innings. Mooney also finished the Commonwealth Games as the competition’s leading run scorer, with a half-century in the final and an unbeaten 70 against Pakistan her highlights of the tournament.

2. Smriti Mandhana – India

23 T20Is, 594 runs at 33.00, SR: 133.48, 5 50s

Scoring the most runs of anyone in this side and with the most half-centuries, Smriti Mandhana had another consistently high-performing year in the format. An imperious unbeaten 79 from 53 balls against England at Derby gave India their only win in that series, and a crucial 79 from 49 against Australia saw India to their third-highest T20I chase in a thrilling second T20I. In the super-over of that match, Mandhana hit two boundaries to set Australia an improbable 21 runs off their over to win.

3. Tahlia McGrath – Australia

16 T20Is, 435 runs at 62.14, SR: 145.00, 4 50s; 13 wickets at 12.84, ER: 6.95, SR: 11.0

Despite starting the year by playing only her fourth T20I, Tahlia McGrath has been the world’s leading batter in the format this year. Until the second half of December, she was averaging more than 80, having made 70 or more in four of the eight innings she had been required to bat. She shared an 158-run stand with Mooney against India, before finishing the year with three uncharacteristically low scores. With everything she touched turning to gold in 2022, McGrath also finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the Commonwealth Games.

4. Ash Gardner – Australia

16 T20Is, 216 runs at 72.00, SR: 152.11, 2 50s; 15 wickets at 17.06, ER: 5.56, SR: 18.4

Of the 16 T20Is Ash Gardner played in 2022, she was only required to bat seven times. She capped off the year brilliantly with an unbeaten 66 off 32 ball against India, putting on a blistering 129-run partnership with Grace Harris, before taking 2-20 with the ball. She was also Australia’s best bowler in the Commonwealth Games final, dismissing Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar to take figures of 3-16.

5. Nida Dar – Pakistan

16 T20Is, 396 runs at 56.57, SR: 122.60, 3 50s; 15 wickets at 18.33, ER: 5.50, SR: 20.0

A strong year for Nida Dar, she went three inning without being dismissed in the Asia Cup, including scoring an unbeaten 56 off 37 against India. She was also economical with the ball, finishing Pakistan’s home series against Ireland as their leading wicket-taker. In a tough year for Pakistan, Dar was a constant guiding presence.

6. Richa Ghosh – India (wk)

18 T20Is, 259 runs at 21.58, SR: 150.58, 0 50s

Out of the India side for much of the first half of 2022, Richa Ghosh had an explosive end to the year, making a name for herself as a dangerous finisher. She had a brilliant series against Australia in December, scoring 40 not out off 19 in the second T20I including six boundaries. In a high-scoring series she made sure India pushed Australia all the way.

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7. Deepti Sharma – India

25 T20Is, 370 runs at 37.00, SR: 136.02, 2 50s; 29 wickets at 18.55, ER: 6.07, SR: 18.3

Although the most memorable part of Deepti Sharma’s 2022 will be her run-out of Charlie Dean at Lord’s, that shouldn’t overshadow the brilliant all-round year she has had in T20Is. Averaging 37 with the bat and finishing the year with a fifty against Australia, she also finishes as India’s leading wicket-taker. Economical in the Commonwealth Games before cleaning up at the Asia Cup as the leading wicket-taker, she finished the year with six wickets in the five-match series against Australia.

8. Hayley Jensen – New Zealand

12 T20Is, 19 wickets at 11.89, ER: 5.55, SR: 12.8

Hayley Jensen’s most impressive performance of the year came against Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Games, where she took 3-5 off her four overs. She also took three wickets against England to ensure a bronze medal for New Zealand, finishing off the year with strong performances against the West Indies and Bangladesh.

9. Arlene Kelly – Ireland

16 T20Is, 21 wickets at 15.23, ER: 5.92, SR: 15.4

Arlene Kelly starred in Ireland’s historic series win in Pakistan. She took 3-19 in the final match to give her side their first victory over Pakistan in the first series played between the two sides in Pakistan. Kelly also performed well against South Africa earlier in the year, with Ireland causing an upset by beating the Proteas by ten runs, Kelly taking two wickets on T20I debut.

10. Inoka Ranaweera – Sri Lanka

19 T20Is, 27 wickets at 13.86, ER: 5.75, SR:14.4

Sri Lanka’s stand-out bowler in 2022, Inoka Ranaweera starred in the Commonwealth Games, taking three wickets against both England and New Zealand in losing causes, before enjoying an impressive Asia Cup. She took four wickets in one over against Bangladesh, conceding only seven runs in the two overs she bowled to help Sri Lanka defend a low total in a rain-affected match.

11. Renuka Singh Thakur – India

22 T20Is, 22 wickets at 23.95, ER: 6.50, SR: 22.0

A tough final selection but Renuka Singh Thakur just gets the nod over Katherine Brunt and Sophie Devine. She had an outstanding Commonwealth Games, finishing as the leading wicket-taker with two four-wicket hauls, including one against Australia. She followed up with a difficult series against England before a decent Asia Cup, finishing the competition with six wickets for the victorious India team. She was expensive against Australia in the final bilateral series of the year, a high-scoring series where bowlers on both sides endured some ugly figures.