Women’s cricket has seen some of the greatest captains that have led teams in international cricket. Women’s cricket has seen leaders that have been dominant and they have led their teams to win World Cups. Women’s cricket has been evolving and now more and more leaders will emerge because of the leagues around the world.
Let’s look at the Top 10 Greatest Women’s Cricket Captains of all time
1) Meg Lanning
Meg Lanning is not only the greatest women’s cricket captain but she can stake claim to be the greatest captain of all time especially in white ball cricket. She is the winningest captain of all time for Australia. She has won 2 ICC ODI World Cups and she has also led Australia to 5 ICC T20I World Cup titles. Meg Lanning has also led Australia to the Gold Medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She has an 80% win record in T20IS which is absolutely incredible. There will never be another captain as successful as Meg Lanning.
2) Belinda Clarke
The second greatest captain in Women’s cricket is also an Australian. Belinda Clarke was the one before Meg Lanning. She has captained 101 ODI Matches for Australia which is the most by a woman as a captain of Australia. Belinda Clarke was the captain of Australia in the 1990s and the early 2000s and this is the time that the dominance of Australia began. Belinda Clarke has an outstanding win record of 83% in ODI Cricket. She has led Australia to the 1999 ODI World Cup.
3) Charlotte Edwards
The current coach of the England women’s cricket team is the number 3 on this list. Charlotte Edwards is simply put one of the Top 3 greatest women’s cricketers of all time. She holds the record for leading the most number of international matches as a captain with 220 Matches. Charlotte Edwards is one of the rare captains who led England to win the 2009 ICC ODI World Cup and the ICC T20I World Cup in 2009. She was the captain of England for 11 years from 2005-2016. Charlotte Edwards was the One that made the England women’s team into a professional one.
4) Mithali Raj
The Indian captain who was responsible for making women’s cricket so popular. The greatest batter in women’s cricket history. Mithali Raj led the Indian team for a remarkable 15 years in which she led India in 4 ICC ODI World Cups including 2 runner up performances in 2005 and 2017. Mithali Raj is the most capped women’s cricketer and she has led the most ODIs as a woman in ODI Cricket. Mithali Raj has over 10,000 runs in international cricket. She led India in 155 ODIs. Mithali Raj had a win record of 55%.
5) Rachael Heyhoe Flint
This woman is credited for having a sport like women’s cricket in the first place. She was the captain for England when they won the first ever ODI World Cup in 1973. This was held 2 years before the debut Men’s World Cup in 1975. She was considered the first ever great captain in international cricket for women. The top prize in the ICC Awards is named after her. Without her there would not be women's cricket to make it so popular today. She led England in 22 Test Matches and 23 ODIs.
6) Suzie Bates
The New Zealand captain Suzie Bates is one of the best cricketers to have played for New Zealand. She was the one who first made New Zealand a serious team in women’s cricket. She led New Zealand to the runners up position in the 2009 ODI World Cup and the 2010 T20I World Cup. Her legacy has been taken forward brilliantly by Sophie Devine who recently retired. Suzie Bates led New Zealand in 128 Matches in white ball cricket. Out of these, she won 69 of these Matches.
7) Karen Bolton
The third captain from Australia to be in this list. This just shows that Australia is a far superior team to everyone else in women’s cricket. They have had no problems churning out leaders. Karen Bolton was the one who led Australia to the 2005 World Cup. Karen Bolton led Australia in 58 international Matches. She won 39 of them.
8) Merissa Aguilleira
The only captain from the West Indies in this list. Merissa Aguilleira is one of the most tenured captains in women’s cricket history. She has led in 134 International Matches. She won 60 of these matches. She was the captain that led West Indies to the 2016 T20I World Cup title. After her , West Indies cricket has been in the doldrums and it is sad. Merissa Aguilleira joins Clive Lloyd and Darren Sammy to lead West Indies to ICC tournament wins.
10) Harmanpreet Kaur
The current captain of the Indian cricket team is at number 9. She is leading her first ever ODI World Cup. She has already led India to being runners up in the 2020 T20I World Cup and the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She has already led India in 127 Matches. Out of these 102 have been T20IS. Harmanpreet Kaur is the captain to have led the most number of T20Is for a country in history. She has a win record of 61.42%. She has the opportunity to become one of the all time greats if she could lead India to the 2025 World Cup.
11) Heather Knight
The third England captain in this list. Heather Knight led England to the 2017 ODI Cricket World Cup which was held in England. She has so far led England in 188 Matches in international cricket. She has led in 88 ODIs and 80 T20Is. Heather Knight was not the England captain in the 2025 World Cup in India. She will forever be among the all time greats in English cricket.
