ESPNcricinfo Awards 2017 Women's batting nominees: the Wyatt riot, and the mighty Kaur
World Cup splendour and Ashes heroics feature in our shortlist of women's batting performances of 2017
Annesha Ghosh
15-Jan-2018
Chamari Atapattu scored a record 69.26% of Sri Lanka's runs in the World Cup game against Australia • Getty Images/ICC
Click here for the women's bowling shortlist
Smriti Mandhana
90 vs England
World Cup, Derby
Ahead of India's World Cup opener, the odds in favour of them staging an upset over England had been as slim as those of Mandhana's inclusion in the squad. But she caught the hosts off guard with her 90. She was imperious in her strokeplay, treating anything marginally short from the England attack - especially Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole - with disdain. Her 72-ball salvo anchored a 144-run opening partnership with Punam Raut and set the tone for India's memorable campaign through a 35-run win.
90 vs England
World Cup, Derby
Ahead of India's World Cup opener, the odds in favour of them staging an upset over England had been as slim as those of Mandhana's inclusion in the squad. But she caught the hosts off guard with her 90. She was imperious in her strokeplay, treating anything marginally short from the England attack - especially Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole - with disdain. Her 72-ball salvo anchored a 144-run opening partnership with Punam Raut and set the tone for India's memorable campaign through a 35-run win.
Chamari Atapattu
178 not out vs Australia
World Cup, Bristol
She walked to the crease in the fourth ball of the match, and 49.3 overs later, Atapattu had the third-highest ODI score, the second-highest World Cup score, the highest individual score ever made against Australia. Though the rest of the line-up made only 60, and Sri Lanka ended up on the wrong side of the result, Atapattu's unbeaten 178 assumed game-changing proportions: her 28 boundaries - the most in any women's ODI - underlined how the gulf between the best and the rest in women's cricket had narrowed over time. It was a big advertisement on the grandest stage of the strides made by the women's game in injecting power - and stature - to range-hitting, and it would make Atapattu the first Sri Lankan to earn a WBBL contract.
178 not out vs Australia
World Cup, Bristol
She walked to the crease in the fourth ball of the match, and 49.3 overs later, Atapattu had the third-highest ODI score, the second-highest World Cup score, the highest individual score ever made against Australia. Though the rest of the line-up made only 60, and Sri Lanka ended up on the wrong side of the result, Atapattu's unbeaten 178 assumed game-changing proportions: her 28 boundaries - the most in any women's ODI - underlined how the gulf between the best and the rest in women's cricket had narrowed over time. It was a big advertisement on the grandest stage of the strides made by the women's game in injecting power - and stature - to range-hitting, and it would make Atapattu the first Sri Lankan to earn a WBBL contract.
Harmanpreet Kaur
171 not out vs Australia
World Cup semi-final, Derby
In India's knockout triumph over New Zealand, Harmanpreet's trademark belligerence was far from visible in a 90-ball 60. With a downpour in Derby reducing the semi-final to 42 overs a side, India needed Harmanpreet to rise to the occasion if they were to stage a fightback against Australia, having slumped to 35 for 2 in 9.2 overs. She duly responded with a masterfully constructed innings, during which she saw off the new ball under overcast conditions, overcame multiple existing injuries, and battled acute dehydration to clobber 27 boundaries in her record- and stereotype-shattering 115-ball innings. Her onslaught knocked out the defending champions, left the cricketing world in disbelief, and set India up for their first appearance in a World Cup final since 2005.
171 not out vs Australia
World Cup semi-final, Derby
In India's knockout triumph over New Zealand, Harmanpreet's trademark belligerence was far from visible in a 90-ball 60. With a downpour in Derby reducing the semi-final to 42 overs a side, India needed Harmanpreet to rise to the occasion if they were to stage a fightback against Australia, having slumped to 35 for 2 in 9.2 overs. She duly responded with a masterfully constructed innings, during which she saw off the new ball under overcast conditions, overcame multiple existing injuries, and battled acute dehydration to clobber 27 boundaries in her record- and stereotype-shattering 115-ball innings. Her onslaught knocked out the defending champions, left the cricketing world in disbelief, and set India up for their first appearance in a World Cup final since 2005.
Ellyse Perry
213 not out vs England
only Test, Sydney
Prior to the inaugural day-night Ashes Test, Perry's profile as Australia's most marketable female cricketer had been forged around her formidable all-round accomplishments (she had made 28 international half-centuries from her 128 previous innings). On November 11, the 27-year old added another feather to her cap with a maiden international ton that swelled to 213 not out - the second-highest score by an Australian across formats - and shepherded the hosts from 61 for 3 to the security of a 168-run lead. In an innings lasting nearly a day and a half, Perry blended patience with poise and perfection, blocking straight ones and belting the snot out of looseners. She reached her double-hundred with a straight-driven four before capping off her innings with a six.
213 not out vs England
only Test, Sydney
Prior to the inaugural day-night Ashes Test, Perry's profile as Australia's most marketable female cricketer had been forged around her formidable all-round accomplishments (she had made 28 international half-centuries from her 128 previous innings). On November 11, the 27-year old added another feather to her cap with a maiden international ton that swelled to 213 not out - the second-highest score by an Australian across formats - and shepherded the hosts from 61 for 3 to the security of a 168-run lead. In an innings lasting nearly a day and a half, Perry blended patience with poise and perfection, blocking straight ones and belting the snot out of looseners. She reached her double-hundred with a straight-driven four before capping off her innings with a six.
Danielle Wyatt
100 vs Australia
third T20I, Canberra
Set 179, their highest target in T20Is, England were reduced to 30 for 3 before Wyatt, who only five days before had scored her maiden international fifty, took advantage of some uncharacteristically slipshod Australian fielding to make a freewheeling 57-ball 100 - the first by an England women's batsman in the format - and help her side level the multi-format Ashes at 8-8 with the least plausible of victories.
100 vs Australia
third T20I, Canberra
Set 179, their highest target in T20Is, England were reduced to 30 for 3 before Wyatt, who only five days before had scored her maiden international fifty, took advantage of some uncharacteristically slipshod Australian fielding to make a freewheeling 57-ball 100 - the first by an England women's batsman in the format - and help her side level the multi-format Ashes at 8-8 with the least plausible of victories.
Click here for the women's bowling shortlist
Annesha Ghosh is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo