A behemoth in the women's game, New Zealand superstar Suzie Bates turns 33 today.
Bates is one of the greatest batswomen to have ever played the sport. She is sixth on the list of the top-scoring women in ODIs but perhaps what has etched her name in the history of cricket is the fact that Bates is the first cricketer to score over 3,000 runs in T20I.
While she may currently be the only one, a few of her contemporaries are also closing in on the historic mark. We take a look at five batswomen who are the all-time leading runscorers in T20Is and are also closing in on 3000 runs in the format.
Suzie Bates
The New Zealand legend has been playing T20Is since 2007 and has played the most innings in the format.
Bates has scored 3243 runs and is the only cricketer with over 3000 runs in T20Is. Her highest score of 124, which came against the South African women's team in 2018, is the fourth-highest individual score in women's T20Is. Her 21 fifties are the joint-most in women's T20Is.
Stafanie Taylor
From a talented teenager to one of the game's finest. West Indies' Stafanie Taylor is one of the format’s greatest players. The 29-year-old has scored 2980 runs in T20Is and struck the joint-most number of fifties in women's T20Is.
Taylor played an integral part in West Indies' triumphant 2016 ICC T20 World Cup campaign in India, finishing the tournament as the leading run-scorer and guiding her country to the crown. For her exploits, she was also named the player of the tournament.
Meg Lanning
Australian great Meg Lanning has scored 2788 runs in T20Is and is third on the list of the highest run-getters in the format.
The 28-year-old holds the record for most centuries in women's T20Is with two, alongside teammate Beth Mooney. Lanning has won the ICC T20 World Cup four times and was named the ICC T20 Cricketer of the Year in 2014.
Charlotte Edwards
Retired English cricketer Charlotte Edwards played 95 T20Is before calling it a day on her brilliant career. The batswoman scored 2605 runs in those 95 matches.
In 2014, Edwards became the first cricketer, men or women’s, to score 2000 runs in T20Is. She was appointed as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Sophie Devine
New Zealand cricketer Sophie Devine is fifth on the list of the highest runscorers in T20Is.
The 31-year-old has scored 2384 in 91 matches at a tremendous strike rate of 126.40. Devine has the second-most number of sixes in T20Is with 88, only behind West Indies' Deandra Dottin.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Michael Bradley
