The 2024 Women's T20 World Cup delivered drama, upsets, and some truly brilliant cricket, culminating in a final between England and Australia — two sides who went through the group stage unbeaten. Now that the dust has settled, BBC Sport readers have cast their votes for the team of the tournament, and a panel of Test Match Special pundits have offered their own selections. As someone who has spent years analysing batting line-ups and bowling attacks, I find these exercises genuinely revealing about which players shaped the competition.
Wyatt-Hodge and Ecclestone the Standout Names
One player who appears in virtually every selection is Danni Wyatt-Hodge. Her form throughout the tournament was simply impossible to ignore, and it's no surprise she's become a fixture at the top of every pundit's XI. Sophie Ecclestone also commands universal respect — three frontline spinners are widely considered essential in T20 middle overs, and the England left-armer is arguably the best in the world right now. From a betting perspective, England's consistency throughout the tournament made them strong favourites heading into the knockout rounds, and their player contributions show exactly why.
What the TMS Pundits Say
Former England spinner Alex Hartley has placed a clear emphasis on strike rate at the top of her order, picking Shafali Verma alongside Wyatt-Hodge. Hartley explained that she prioritised high strike-rates over raw run tallies for the opening spots, and also loaded her side with all-rounders — citing the fact that both England and Australia built their unbeaten group-stage records on exactly that kind of squad depth. Ellyse Perry earns her place in Hartley's XI on the back of what she describes as Perry returning to her very best, including a more active role with the ball.
World Cup winner Ebony Rainford-Brent has gone with a top order built around the tournament's most prolific run-scorers, naming Tazmin Brits and Smriti Mandhana alongside Wyatt-Hodge, with Nat Sciver-Brunt as both anchor and captain. Rainford-Brent's side boasts batting depth down to number eight, three seam options, and three spinners — a lineup designed for flexibility across different surfaces and conditions.
Room for the Underdog Stories
BBC cricket reporter Henry Moeran has made perhaps the most thought-provoking selection, finding space for Scotland's Darcey Carter and Ireland's Orla Prendergast alongside more established names. Moeran noted that Australian players feature far less prominently than in previous tournaments, which speaks volumes about how competitive this edition was. The so-called smaller nations genuinely troubled the heavyweights, and that should give tournament organisers real encouragement about the growth of the women's game globally. Aaliyah Alleyne of the West Indies also earns a spot in Moeran's XI — another nod to the tournament's broader spread of talent.
A Tournament That Raised the Bar
What strikes me most looking across all three selections is the sheer variety of nations represented — India, South Africa, West Indies, Ireland, Scotland, Pakistan, and Australia all feature alongside England. This wasn't a tournament dominated by two or three sides from start to finish. The depth of quality on show has made these team-of-the-tournament decisions genuinely difficult, which is exactly what you want from a major ICC event. For the women's game in the UK and beyond, that can only be a positive sign heading into the next cycle.
