CWG Cricket 2022: Best Combined XI of the tournament

The 2022 Commonwealth Games was held in Birmingham between July 28 and August 8, and T20 cricket was part of the mega event for the first time. This was also the first time women’s cricket was featured in the multi-sport event, and it was Australia, who clinched the gold medal. The last time cricket was part of the Commonwealth Games was in 1998 in Malaysia, which was won by South Africa, led by Shaun Pollock. Australia and New Zealand settled for silver and bronze respectively. In the 2022 edition, eight teams, divided into two groups, took part. Australia, England, India and New Zealand qualified for the semifinals, and it was India, who met Australia for the gold medal match. New Zealand beat the hosts to bag bronze, and India settled for silver after they lost by 9 runs in the final. Here is the best playing XI of the 2022 Commonwealth Games Cricket: 1. Beth Mooney Beth Mooney (Photo Source: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images) The star Australian opener was the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 179 runs in five matches at an average of 44.75 and a strike rate of 133.58, with two fifties. She was also the top scorer for her side in the all-important gold medal match, scoring 61 runs off 41 balls. Mooney was also the top scorer in the semifinal against New Zealand with a score of 36 runs off 29 balls, chasing 145. Her top score of the tournament came against Pakistan in the last game of the group stage, scoring a splendid 70 runs off 49 balls in a 44-run win. What stood out about Mooney’s performance in the 2022 Commonwealth Games was that, although she started slowly with a score of 10 and 2 in the first two matches, she made herself count for the crunch matches. Mooney currently stands on top of the list in the ICC Women’s Rankings for batting in T20Is. 2. Sophie Devine Sophie Devine. (Photo by Will Russell-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) The Kiwi all-rounder is one of the best players in T20Is at the moment, ranking third among batters and first among all-rounders. The New Zealand skipper was also one of the best players in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, contributing with both bat and ball for New Zealand. Devine was the second-highest run-getter in the competition with 177 runs in five matches, only two runs short of Beth Mooney. She had an average of 44.25 and a strike rate of 115.68 with two fifties. She also picked up six wickets in 13.3 overs with an average of 14.83, an economy rate of 6.59 and a strike rate of 13.5. Devine started off with a knock of 48 and also a spell of three wickets for 37 runs against South Africa. Her top score of 53 came against Australia in the semifinal and followed it up with an unbeaten 51 against England in the Third Place Play-Off. She also bagged two wickets for 11 runs against the hosts to help them secure the bronze. 3. Alice Capsey Alice Capsey in CWG 2022 (Photo Source: Twitter) The 18-year-old batting all-rounder had the experience of playing only international games prior to the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She finished as the top scorer of England in the competition, scoring 135 runs in five matches with an average of 27, a strike rate of 116.37 and one fifty. Capsey started off with a knock of 44 against Sri Lanka, and followed it up with a 50 against South Africa, bringing up her maiden half-century in international cricket. Capsey was tipped to be an England top-order batter when she was in her mid-teens and made her England debut on July 23 against South Africa. Capsey, in seven T20Is, has scored 160 runs at an average of 26.66 and a strike rate of 120.30, and also has a wicket to her name. She is a future prospect and definitely a force to reckon with for English Cricket. 4. Jemimah Rodrigues Jemimah Rodrigues (Photo Source: Twitter) Jemimah Rodrigues, the right-hand batter, was a dependable batter in the middle for India. The number three batter scored 146 runs in five matches at an average of 73.00 and a strike rate of 116.80 with one fifty, in the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Jemimah had a tough start to the tournament, scoring 11 against Australia in India’s opening game. She was unbeaten on 2, facing three balls against Pakistan, and backed it up with another unbeaten knock of 56 against Barbados. In the semifinal against England, she scored an unbeaten 44 off 31 balls in a 4-run victory. The 21-year-old is already one of the most experienced players in the Indian camp, having played 58 T20Is. She has scored over 1,200 runs at an average of close to 30. She is also among the top-10 batters in the world in T20Is at the moment. 5. Harmanpreet Kaur (c) Harmanpreet Kaur. (Photo by Ashley Allen/Getty Images) Harmanpreet Kaur is one of the cleanest strikers and most experienced cricketers at the moment. The Indian skipper was that one player for India who pulled the strings and steadied the ship, in a weak-looking middle order, in the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Kaur played all five games of the tournament and scored 137 runs at an average of 34.25 and a strike rate of 139.70 with two fifties. She set her campaign underway with a knock of 52 off 34 balls against Australia and finished off with a 65 off 43 balls in the gold medal match. Kaur, although got out agonisingly for a golden duck against Barbados in India’s last match of the group, she chipped in with the ball in the second innings with a wicket. Leading India to the silver medal, Kaur is also the pick as the captain of the tournament’s combined XI. 6. Tahlia McGrath Tahlia McGrath (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) Australia’s Tahlia McGrath was one of the key members in her side’s glory in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, contributing with both bat and ball. She played five matches in the tournament, and scored 128 runs at an average of 42.66 and a strike rate of 148.83, with one fifty. McGrath also finished as the joint-second-highest wicket-taker of the competition, with eight wickets at an average of 12.12 and a strike rate of 10.5, with an economy rate of 6.92. She had a dream game against Pakistan, as she scored an unbeaten 78 off 51 balls and also picked up three wickets for only 13 runs. McGrath also finished with the same match figures against Barbados. In the semifinal against the Kiwis, she scored 34 with the bat and got two wickets with the ball. The fifth-ranked T20I batter was arguably the best performer of the competition with her all-round contributions. 7. Amy Jones (wk) Amy Jones in CWG 2022 (Photo Source: Twitter) England’s Amy Jones is the pick for the role of wicketkeeper-batter in the combined XI of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She scored 114 runs in five games at an average of 38.00 and a strike rate of 121.27, in the tournament. She finished with three catches and one stumping to her name. Jones mostly batted at number five for England in Birmingham and brought up her top score of unbeaten 36 against South Africa in the second game of the group stage. She scored the winning runs against New Zealand in the last game of the stage, finishing with 18 and securing the top spot for the side in their pool. Jones once again contributed in the semifinal against India, scoring 31 off 24 balls, before being agonisingly run out and eventually ending up on the losing side. She ended her campaign with the bat, scoring 26 in the Third Place Play-Off. 8. Sneh Rana Sneh Rana (Photo Source: Twitter) Sneh Rana was the joint-highest wicket-taker among the spinners in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, along with Australia’s Jess Jonassen. She picked up seven wickets in four matches at a strike rate of 12.0 and an average of 12.42 with an economy rate of 6.21, in the tournament. The Indian off-spinner missed the first game in the group stages against Australia. Rana returned to the team in the second game, and was the pick of the bowlers, bagging two wickets for 15 runs in four overs. In the next game against Barbados, she took a wicket for only six runs. Rana picked up two wickets each in the semifinal against England and in the gold medal game against the Aussies. She also scored eight runs with the bat against Australia but failed to take India over the line, chasing 162. 9. Hayley Jensen Hayley Jensen. (Photo by Daniel Pockett-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) The New Zealand fast bowler Hayley Jensen was the highest wicket-taker for the Kiwis in the 2022 Commonwealth Games with seven wickets. She finished with a bowling average of 14.28, a strike rate of 12.0 and an economy rate of 6.21. One of Jensen’s best performances of the tournament came in the Third Place Play-Off against the hosts, picking up three wickets for 24 in four overs. Her best match figures of three wickets for 5 runs in four overs with a maiden, came against Sri Lanka in the second game of the group stages. Jensen has been on a good run of form with the ball, as she took nine wickets in her last six T20Is at an average of 13.88 and a strike rate of 14.4 with an economy rate of 5.76. She also has an impressive record in England in the format, taking 15 wickets. 10. Renuka Singh Renuka Singh (Photo Source: Twitter) India’s ace fast bowler Renuka Singh was arguably the best bowler of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She caught everyone’s eyes with her supreme ability to exploit the English conditions to assist the fast bowlers, by swinging the new ball and picking some early wickets. Renuka finished as the highest wicket-taker in Birmingham, picking up 11 wickets in five games at an average of 9.45 and an average of 10.3 with an economy rate of 5.47. She set the tournament ablaze with her performance in the opening game, bagging four wickets for 18 runs. Renuka picked up one wicket in the next game, but her best performance came against Barbados, taking four wickets for only 10 runs in four overs. She also contributed in the final game against Australia with two wickets. 11. Megan Schutt Megan Schutt. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) The talismanic fast bowler from Australia was yet another key contributor for her side to secure the gold medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Megan Schutt was the joint-second-highest wicket-taker, along with her teammate Tahlia McGrath, picking up eight wickets in five games. Schutt also had an average of 13.50, a strike rate of 13.5 and an economy rate of 6.00 in the tournament. Her campaign kicked off with a spell of two wickets for 26 runs against India in the opening game. She was wicketless against Barbados but got a wicket against Pakistan in the third game. Schutt shined in the knockout games, scalping three wickets for 20 runs against New Zealand in the semifinals, and two wickets for 27 runs against India in the gold medal match. She is currently the highest-ranked Australian bowler and fifth overall in the T20Is.

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