Our WWC17 Team of the Tournament

To round-out a magnificent 2017 Women's World Cup, below is cricket.com.au's selection of the unofficial Team of the Tournament. 

With so many brilliant performers and performances it was no easy task picking this star-studded side and plenty of debate is sure to be generated from the combined XI.

The ICC announced their team, naming 12 players with five of them from champions England, three from runners-up India including captain Mithali Raj, three South Africans and a lone Australian in Ellyse Perry. 

So who makes your WWC17 best XI? We start with one of the competition's champions. 

Sarah Taylor - England (wk)

Matches: 9 | Runs: 396 | Ave: 49.5 | SR: 99.0 | HS: 147 | Cts: 4 | St: 2

Taylor was part of the England top-order that claimed victory in the Women’s World Cup and a handy contributor throughout the campaign. She scored half-centuries against Sri Lanka and in the semi-final victory over the Proteas, but her biggest achievement came against South Africa when she plundered 147 from 135 balls, smashing 24 boundaries in her onslaught. 

Taylor was also potent with the gloves, taking four catches and two stumpings behind the wickets, including the fielding effort of the tournament when she removed Trisha Chetty with a cat-like leg-side stumping that played a crucial role in England’s eventual victory. Her two run-out assists in the final also came at pivotal times as she eventually lifted her second World Cup trophy.

Tammy Beaumont - England

Matches: 9 | Runs: 410 | Ave: 45.6 | SR: 76.9 | HS: 148

England’s leading-run-scorer for the tournament and Player of the Tournament, Beaumont was unstoppable at the top of the order, boasting a century against South Africa and a half-century against New Zealand. She made contributions against Australia and the West Indies and was a vital part in England’s fruitful opening partnerships. The 26-year-old’s first Women’s World Cup yielding her 410 runs and a World Cup title.

Image Id: 16B97407556A414EB80A584289B3E136 Image Caption: Textbook lofted drive from Beaumont // Getty

Mithali Raj - India

Matches: 9 | Runs: 409 | Ave: 45.4 | SR: 70.2 | HS: 109

Raj’s fifth-and-final World Cup was also her most productive, scoring 409 runs and leading her side to the final at Lord’s. Whilst India fell agonisingly short of a maiden World Cup win, her solidarity at the top of the order was a key reason her side made the decider against all odds and popular opinion. She will leave international cricket without a World Cup title when she decides to retire but there can be no question of her standing as one of the greatest performers on the big stage as World Cup cricket’s highest ever-run-scorer.

Meg Lanning - Australia

Matches: 6 | Runs: 328 | Ave: 82.0 | SR: 92.1 | HS: 152*

Australia’s captain, and the highest ranked women's ODI batter in the world, had a mixed campaign, hampered by an ongoing shoulder injury that forced her out of two games. When she played, she was her usual world-class self, scoring an unbeaten 76 against India to go with her match-winning unbeaten 152 that saw Australia home against the Sri Lankans just hours after Chamari Athapathu’s masterclass. 

She was remarkably undone by Jhulan Goswami for naught in the semi-final, her first duck in almost three years, ending a topsy-turvy campaign for Lanning and Australia.

Natalie Sciver - England

Matches: 9 | Runs: 369 | Ave: 46.1 | SR: 107.6 | HS: 137

The tournament’s most powerful batter, blasted two centuries at much better than a-run-a-ball and took games away from competitive sides. Her tons catapulted her into world-class status according to her coach Mark Robinson, and whilst she wasn’t a contributor in the other group stage matches, she top scored with 51 for England in the World Cup final that ultimately was enough to see them to a fourth-title.

Ellyse Perry - Australia

Matches: 8 | Runs: 404 | Ave: 80.8 | SR: 77.5 | HS: 71 | Wkts: 9 | Ave: 37.3 | BBI: 3-47

Perry was Australia’s leading-run-scorer in the Women’s World Cup, posting five-consecutive half-centuries in the lead-up to the knockout stages, often there at the end when Australia passed the total, unbeaten on three occasions. By far the best allrounder in the competition, Perry took the new ball and claimed nine wickets in the campaign and was Australia’s most reliable player when Lanning was out with injury.

Heather Knight – England (c)

Matches: 9 | Runs: 364 | Ave: 45.4 | SR: 80.5 | HS: 106

A World Cup-winning captain and captain of this team amongst three other nation’s leaders, Knight was sublime throughout the tournament, standing up to get her side into the final at Lord’s. Whilst she has a final to forget individually, she says she will likely just remember lifting the trophy in front of a packed house. England’s skipper hit a century against Pakistan and followed it up with half-centuries against Sri Lanka and the West Indies to propel her side to dominant victories and the top of the table.

Dane van Niekerk – South Africa

Matches: 7 | Wkts: 15 | Ave: 10.0 | SR: 17.3 | BBI: 4-0

On the spin-friendly Indian wickets in 2013, it was pace that dominated, on the seam-friendly UK wickets in 2017, it was van Niekerk who dominated, claiming a tournament-high 15 wickets and bamboozling opposition batting orders. She took three hauls for four-wickets against the West Indies, Sri Lanka and India and was solid with the bat; a half-century against India earning her player-of-the-match honours. She captained her side into the semi-finals for the first time in 17 years but weren’t able to knock out the hosts in a tightly-fought encounter.

Marizanne Kapp – South Africa

Matches: 7 | Wkts: 13 | Ave: 19.4 | SR: 26.0 | BBI: 4-14

Statistically the tournament’s best fast-bowler, Kapp bowled with brilliant pace and control to spearhead the Proteas attack. The only quick alongside Perry in the XI after a spin-dominated tournament, Kapp was lethal with the new ball, claiming four scalps against the West Indies and three against England, unfortunately unable to replicate her early-tournament dominance at the back-end as her side fell short against England in the semi-final.

Image Id: 96E1B7F92757401888092893E11F031E Image Caption: Kapp bowls with a classic action // Getty

Deepti Sharma - India

Matches: 9 | Wkts: 12 | Ave: 30.8| SR: 39.3 | BBI: 3-47

Sharma was unfortunately on the losing side of a tense Women’s World Cup final but played a major role in India’s late surge towards the decider at Lord’s. India’s leading wicket-taker at the tournament, the 19-year-old utilised the English conditions to her advantage and bamboozled batters the world over. She also contributed 78 against Sri Lanka, proving she is an all-round threat able to hurt you with both bat and ball. Her spell against Australia gaining India entry into the last match of the tournament.

Kristen Beams - Australia

Matches: 7 | Wkts: 12 | Ave: 22.2 | SR: 32.5 | BBI: 3-23

In her first World Cup campaign, Kristen Beams was a shining light for Australia and a much-talked about figurehead in spin’s dominance at the tournament. Alongside Nicole Bolton, Beams was a pure partnership breaker, with Lanning and Rachael Haynes able to rely on the leg-spinner for immediate results. Alongside her fellow bowlers, Beams was unable to curb the influence of the strong Indian batting order in Australia's semi-final exit. 

Image Id: 99B79AEE28CD4A12876E57E4DB460FF5 Image Caption: Howzat?! Huge appeal from Beams // Getty