The women's death-overs specialists every captain wants

In the frantic closing overs of a T20 innings, when batters are swinging from the first ball and boundaries feel inevitable, a bowler who can keep the run flow to a trickle is worth her weight in gold. The death overs, numbers 16 to 20, are where matches are won and lost, and the women ranked here have mastered the art of defence under maximum pressure.

Leading the way is Danielle Hazell, whose economy rate of 6.38 across 283 legal balls at the death is the gold standard. To concede barely a run a ball when the whole stadium expects six-hitting is elite control, and Hazell backs it up with 26 wickets in that phase. Just behind her sits Anisa Mohammed at 6.60 from 288 balls, with Nashra Sandhu (6.74 from 307 balls) and Fahima Khatun (6.81 from 258 balls) rounding out the top four.

What makes a low death economy so prized is the stakes attached to every delivery. Stafanie Taylor, fifth here at 6.94, has bowled a hefty 446 balls in this window and claimed 30 wickets, proving her captains trust her repeatedly when it matters most. Lauren Smith (7.04), Nahida Akter and Erin Osborne (both 7.05) show how tightly packed the elite group is.

Volume tells its own story too. Georgia Wareham, tenth on economy at 7.12, has sent down 622 legal balls at the death and taken 54 wickets — comfortably the most in both categories here. That workload reflects enduring faith from her captains over time.

A bowler who can shave even a run an over off a death spell changes totals, and ultimately results. These ten are the names every captain wants with the ball in hand.