How women's T20s got bigger, faster and bolder

Run-rates among the elite nations have risen by 27%, boundaries have skyrocketed and franchise leagues have changed their batting habits so that 150 is the new benchmark. Long before Beth Mooney combined consistency with high pace, Hayley Matthews developed from a promising all-rounder into one of the most devastating batsmen in the game, or Shafali Verma’s first instinct became to attack, not judge the conditions, women’s T20 cricket operated by the usual mantra, settle down and go for runs.To be fair, men’s T20 cricket also went through this phase in the early years of T20. Batsmen valued wickets in hand, risk-taking was cautious and the power-play was something to be navigated, not exploited.In women’s cricket, there was the Charlotte Edwards era when a strike rate of around 100 separated the best from the rest. There was Suzie Bates, whose greatness was built on accumulation and consistency. Even Meg Lanning, arguably the most complete batsman the women’s game has produced, was more about building the innings than liquidating strikes from the start.Back then, a score of 120 or 130 was competitive and team batting, and reaching 140 was comfortably ahead.

Seventeen years later, on the eve of the next Women’s T20 World Cup, those assumptions have changed, and not because one tournament or one player changed everything.Like the men’s game, it was part of a natural evolution.There is always a compromise in batting. Score high or fast: Rarely both, unless you’re Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.Be that as it may, England legend Edwards finished with over 2,600 T20I runs at a strike rate of a shade over 100. Bates spent most of her career in similar territory.Then came Lanning. The long-serving Australian captain was a bridge between eras. It maintained the consistency of the previous generation while adding a level of aggression. Lanning averaged over 36 and hit nearly 124, occupying a sweet spot that few before her have managed.And then the game shifted again.Currently, Mooney averages close to 40 while batting above 125. Current England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt combines strike numbers north of 120 with incredible consistency. West Indian Matthews has become one of the most dangerous power-hitters in the world, while Shafali’s career strike tally stands at around 130.

And it’s a trend not only for a select few.Among established nations in women’s cricket (top 10), runs increased from 5.8 per year in 2009-13 to 7.34 in 2024-25. In 2025, they touched 7.85 – the highest number on record.The 27 percent increase spanned nearly two decades.The marginal percentage between the elite parties has increased by almost two-thirds over the years. Dot balls keep falling. Six strikes, once casual, are becoming an increasingly important point for scoring.

And what is even more striking, the powerhouses are used to the fullest. Shafali doesn’t believe he can settle down. Matthews sees the first six overs as an opportunity and the likes of Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Phoebe Litchfield go for the kill early on. Powerplay scoring has improved over the years, even faster than death scoring.So the natural question is, what has changed? Or what was the catalyst for this change in thinking? The numbers say franchise league. The foundation was laid by the Women’s Big Bash League. Leagues like the Women’s T20 Blast and WCPL pushed it forward and the Women’s Premier League crowded it.The sharpest increase in international scoring coincides almost perfectly with the maturation of the WBBL and the arrival of the WPL. High-scoring cricket has become the norm.

Which brings us to the World Cup.Over time, even the FIFA World Cup has come to reflect the wider changes taking place around it. In 2012, only one team crossed 150 in the entire tournament. By 2020, there were a total of eight.In 2023, South Africa scored 13 of 150 or more, while Sri Lanka’s 213 against Scotland was the highest total in Women’s T20 World Cup history.The 2024 release of the UAE reduced these numbers again. But this decline says more about the conditions than the direction.Outside the World Cup bubble, the scoring rate in women’s T20 internationals has continued to rise, reaching its highest level in 2025.And that’s why this Women’s T20 World Cup is different. The definition of a winning score has changed. 120 once felt commanding; today the 150 only feels competitive.

However, not every team managed this increase in the same way. Comparing the first World Cups (2012-16) with the recent ones (2020-24), England have accelerated the worst, with their run rate rising from 6.41 to 7.82 and their power-play score from 6.5 to 7.85 per over.Australia, the dominant side, pushed from 6.76 to 7.48. India made the single biggest jump in powerplay, from 4.74 to 7.20, a sign of how thoroughly their top order has been rebuilt around aggression. South Africa also grew rapidly.The only exception is New Zealand, whose World Cup scores actually fell slightly – the only top side not to join the rise.

And who are the strikers driving this surge today? Among the batsmen with more than 500 runs since 2023, India’s Richa Ghosh leads the way with a strike tally of nearly 150 – a designated finisher who holds the joint-fastest fifty in women’s T20I history.Behind her are Pakistan’s Fatima Sana, England’s Danni Wyatt, Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield and India’s Shafali Verma.