The recently concluded Women’s World Cup has been a major turnaround in the history of Women’s cricket. The final at Lords was power packed with more than 26,000 people watching it sitting on the ground. Around 150 million people watched the final between Indian and England all over the world as per reported by Times.
According to another report, almost 1.1 million people watched the match in the UK alone, which equals to the number of viewers that turn out for a hugely popular Premier League matches on Sunday afternoons.
This one month, the top eight teams competed against each other to put a hand on that prestigious trophy. On the final day, England emerged victorious defeating India by nine runs in a cracker of a match to conquer the title for the fourth time. Australia is ahead of them, having won the trophy six times.
Here are the six youngsters to grace the World Cup 2017:
1. Amelia Kerr (New Zealand):
The right-arm leg break bowler from Wellington, New Zealand made her international debut at the age of 15 for New Zealand in 2016 against Pakistan at Lincoln taking a solitary wicket giving only 21 runs. She is the youngest player to represent New Zealand in this edition of the World Cup taking 10 wickets in six matches.
2. Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa):
The 18-year-old girl from Cape Town has been one of the top performers for South Africa in this World Cup. The top-order batter notched up 4 fifties to take South Africa to semifinals. She has played 25 ODI’s for South Africa scoring 961 runs at an average of 48.05.
3. Hayley Matthews (West Indies):
The girl from Barbados is only 19 years of age who made her ODI debut three years ago has been a major contributor to West Indies cricket for quite some time now. With her all-around capabilities, she is known to chip in with vitals scores and taking up crucial wickets at crunch situation with her off-breaks. She had the highest score of 46 in this World Cup.
4. Deepti Sharma (India):
The 19-year-old all-rounder from Uttar Pradesh had an amazing time with both bat and ball in this edition of the World Cup scoring 216 runs and picking up 12 crucial wickets. An ardent fan of Suresh Raina, she is also known for her acrobatics in the field affecting direct run outs and taking important catches. She has the highest score of 188 for India in ODI’s.
5. Amanda-Jade Wellington (Australia):
She is well-known for her leg-break bowling and scoring some important runs down the order. The 20 years old made her debut for Australia in 2016. She represented Australia in a single match in this World Cup.
6. Smriti Mandhana (India):
The left-handed opening batter from India had a great start to the campaign scoring 90 and 106* against England and West Indies respectively. She recently had her birthday during the world cup days when she reached the age of 21. The Maharashtra girl is well-known for her hitting capabilities and utilizing the power play over’s. She has played 32 ODI’s for India scoring 933 runs at an average of 30.09.