Best of the Bash: WBBL Team of the Decade revealed

The greatest players from across the 10-year history of the Weber Women's Big Bash League have been recognised with selection in the official WBBL Team of the Decade. 

The team, selected by a combination of expert panel and public voting, comprises 12 players who have consistently delivered match-winning performances since the league's inception in 2015. 

The Big Bash appointed a selection panel of experts to tackle the difficult task of narrowing down a who's who of the world's best players – past and present – into just 12 positions.

Chaired by Cricket Australia director Clea Smith, the panel includes Mel Jones, Lisa Sthalekar, Matthew Mott, Quentin Hull, Laura Jolly and Alistair Dobson. Fans also had the chance to select their Team of the Decade in the Big Bash app, and public votes were given equal weighting to panel selections.

Sheer weight of runs or wickets was not the only consideration for the selection panel or fans, with factors including batting strike rate, bowling economy rate and – perhaps most importantly – how frequently players have produced match-winning performances on the biggest stage, particularly in finals, taken into account.

The XI is a balanced mix that could theoretically take the field for a game, and a maximum of three overseas players was permitted in keeping with league contracting rules – although only two eventually made the cut.

Included in the side are players with a combined 21 WBBL titles as well as five player of the tournament and five player of the final awards. Six of the top seven run scorers in the competition's history feature, as do five of the top seven wicket takers. All bar one player have been contracted in all 10 seasons. 

1. Beth Mooney (Perth Scorchers, Brisbane Heat)

Matches: 142 | Runs: 5051 | Ave: 46.33 | SR: 125.24 | 100s/50s: 3/44 | HS: 102

Mooney was the most straightforward choice, given her remarkable consistent record that saw her score 400-plus runs in each of the first nine WBBL seasons, and 386 in the shortened 10th edition.

Mooney is the only player to have passed 5000 runs, is the most decorated player in the competition's history with three titles across two clubs, twice named player of the final and once a player of the tournament. She has been named in the team of the tournament in nine out of 10 seasons.

2. Alyssa Healy (wk) (Sydney Sixers)

Matches: 120 | Runs: 3006 | Ave: 26.83 | SR: 134.37 | 100s/50s: 5/15 | HS: 112* | Ct: 56 | St: 45

Mooney's Australian opening partner Healy has claimed the other position at the top of the order. Healy has an equal league-leading five centuries to her name, and boasts the highest strike rate (134.37) among regular top-order players over the course of 10 seasons. She top-scored for the Sixers in both of their winning finals – and captained one of those games in the absence of an injured Ellyse Perry – and has edged out Mooney to claim the gloves in this side. 

3. Meg Lanning (Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers)

Matches: 97 | Runs: 3166 | Ave: 39.08 | SR: 120.24 | 100s/50s: 1/31 | HS: 101

Former Australian captain Lanning slots in at number three. She was the leading run-scorer in the league's first two editions, and the inaugural player of the tournament. Lanning sits fifth on the all-time runs list despite missing two entire seasons and playing far fewer matches than those around her. Lanning has captained both the Stars and Scorchers, won the Stars' MVP three times and been included in the team of the tournament on three occasions.

4. Ellyse Perry (c) (Sydney Sixers)

Matches: 134 | Runs: 4689 | Ave: 48.84 | SR: 109.09 | 100s/50s: 2/32 | HS: 103* | Wickets: 70 | Econ: 7.09 | BBI: 5-22

The Team of the Decade is captained by Perry, the only player to lead her club in all ten seasons, including in two title-winning campaigns. Another player who demanded inclusion, with a record that speaks for itself. Her roles have shifted slightly throughout the last decade – she spent some time down the order when the club recruited overseas openers – and has shown her class in improving her game, boosting her strike rate as the game has evolved. Perry is the only player alongside Mooney to have hit at least 350 runs in all 10 seasons. 

5. Sophie Devine (Perth Scorchers, Adelaide Strikers) ✈

Matches: 130 | Runs: 3960 | Ave: 36 | SR: 127.49 | 100s/50s: 4/22 | HS: 106 | Wickets: 105 | Econ: 7.40 | BBI: 5-41

The first of the internationals is New Zealand's Sophie Devine. Perth Scorchers' WBBL|07 winning captain, Devine is twice a player of the tournament and has earned selected in the Team of the Tournament seven times. She is the competition's third leading run-scorer with 3960, while also being one of just 13 players to pass the 100-wicket mark.

No one has hit more sixes in WBBL history than Devine, whose total of 147 maximums is yards ahead of second-ranked Lizelle Lee's 96. Devine has spent time in the middle-order for the Scorchers in recent seasons and that's where she finds herself in this team. 

6. Grace Harris (Brisbane Heat)

Matches: 129 | Runs: 2847 | SR: 130.65 | 100s/50s: 3/13 | HS: 136* | Wickets: 66 | Econ: 6.90 | BBI: 4-15

A powerful hitter, fan-favourite Harris has made her name as an impact player for both Brisbane Heat and (briefly) Melbourne Renegades and sits second only to Healy for strike rate (130.80) in this team. Harris holds the notable record of having hit the first ever WBBL century back in WBBL|01, the fastest century, hit against the Stars at the Gabba in WBBL|04, and until recently, held the record for highest score, with her 136no at North Sydney Oval only recently surpassed by Lizelle Lee. Her off-spin has also earned 66 wickets. 

7. Jess Jonassen (Brisbane Heat)

Matches: 145 | Wickets: 176 | Ave: 19.17 | Econ: 6.58 | BBI: 4-13 | Runs: 2207 | SR: 115.48 | 100s/50s: 0/6 | HS: 67*

The WBBL's leading wicket taker of all time, Jess Jonassen, has been named in the team of the tournament four times, was the club's MVP in WBBL|05 and also sits 16th on the all-time runs lost. No player has played more WBBL games than Jonassen's 142, all of which have come in the teal of Brisbane Heat. 

8. Marizanne Kapp (Melbourne Stars, Sydney Thunder, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers) ✈

Matches: 134 | Wickets: 133 | Econ: 5.60 | BBI: 4-10 | Runs: 1361 | SR: 106.74 | 100s/50s: 0/5 | HS: 68* 

Kapp has made her mark on every club she has been involved with over the last decade, and her ability to stand up in the biggest matches was a significant factor in her selection. During her time at the Sixers the club won two championships (although she was forced to miss one of the finals through international commitments), and was player of the match when the Scorchers claimed their first trophy in 2021. She was the first overseas player to take 100 wickets, and her economy rate is one of the best going around.

9. Amanda-Jade Wellington (Adelaide Strikers) 

Matches: 142 | Wickets: 157 | Econ: 6.78 | Ave: 19.77 | BBI: 5-8

Wellington is the second front-line spinner in the Team of the Decade. She is one of just three bowlers in the 150 wickets club, and her finest moment came when she earned player-of-the-final honours at Adelaide Oval in the WBBL|09 decider, when the Strikers won their second consecutive title. She has also claimed the competition's equal-second best figures of 5-8, not once but twice! 

10. Sarah Aley (Sydney Sixers)

Matches: 81 | Wickets: 89 | Econ: 6.58 | Ave: 17.84 | BBI: 4-8

Sixers great Aley is the only retired WBBL player to make the Team of the Decade. Her 89 wickets across six seasons came at an average of 17.84, the best of any bowler to take 30 or more wickets since the league began. Aley was the player of the final in WBBL|02 and the WBBL's leading bowler that season. 

11. Megan Schutt (Adelaide Strikers)

Matches: 137 | Wickets: 149 | Econ: 5.91 | Ave: 20.15 | BBI: 6-19

The highest WBBL wicket-taker among pace bowlers with 149, Schutt also owns the league's best bowling figures in an innings of 6-19. Like Wellington, she is a two-time champion with the Strikers and was her club's MVP in both of those campaigns.

12. Molly Strano (Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades)

Matches: 138 | Wickets: 158 | Econ: 6.70 | Ave: 19.74 | BBI: 5-15

Molly Strano has claimed a couple of 'firsts' for the WBBL over the years. The spinner was the first player to take a five-wicket haul when she dismantled the Melbourne Stars in the Melbourne Derby on the MCG. She was also the first player to reach 100 WBBL wickets showing off her consistency over the years of the competition. To top it off she sits first as the all-time wicket taker for the Renegades and second for the Hurricanes.

*Statistics current to November 27

WBBL|10 Finals

The Knockout: Sydney Thunder beat Hobart Hurricanes by six wickets

The Challenger: Brisbane Heat v Sydney Thunder | Allan Border Field | Friday, November 29 at 7.15pm AEDT, 6.15pm AEDT

The Final: Melbourne Renegades v TBC | MCG | Sunday, December 1 at 1.20pm AEDT

Grab your tickets or tune in on the Seven Network, 7Plus, Fox Cricket, Kayo or ABC and SEN radio