The best bowling figures in a women's T20 innings

When it comes to sheer destruction in a single women's T20 innings, few can match what Ellyse Perry produced in the WPL in 2024. Her figures of six wickets for just 15 runs sit at the summit of this list, a performance that combined ruthlessness with control in a competition still finding its feet.

The only other bowler to claim six in an innings across this data is Megan Schutt, who took 6 for 19 in the WBBL in 2022. That two Australians hold the two six-wicket hauls speaks to the depth of talent flowing through both the WPL and Australia's domestic league.

For pure economy, though, nothing tops Deandra Dottin's astonishing 5 for 5 in a T20 international back in 2018. Conceding just five runs while removing half a side remains a benchmark of miserly excellence. Bangladesh's Nahida Akter came close in 2023 with 5 for 8 in a T20I, matching the same figures posted by Suné Luus in 2016.

The 5-for-8 club is a crowded one. Amanda-Jade Wellington achieved it twice in the WBBL, in both 2021 and 2022, underlining her wicket-taking consistency in that competition. Young Lucy Hamilton joined them in the 2024 WBBL, another sign of the tournament producing fresh match-winners.

Rounding out the list are two returns of 5 for 10. Hannah Darlington managed it in the WBBL in 2023, while Molly Strano did so in a T20I in 2017.

The spread is telling: the WBBL accounts for five of these ten entries, with T20 internationals contributing four and the WPL one. Together they showcase how bowlers, whether pace or spin, can single-handedly dismantle an innings and reshape a contest in the space of a few overs.