Women's Big Bash League 2022: Full list of award winners, statistics, best players

It was a long journey for the Adelaide Strikers, who claimed the WBBL 2022 title. Since the 2019 edition of the tournament, Adelaide Strikers made it to the finals not just once, but thrice. After losing the 2019 and 2021 final matches, Strikers emerged victorious in the 2022 finale as they defeated two-time champions Sydney Sixers by 10 runs.  As they say, third time’s the charm!

The Women’s Big Bash League, which started on October 13 this year, consisted of 59 matches, including the summit clash. Eight teams gave their best throughout the eighth edition of the tournament, but only four teams, namely Hobart Hurricanes, Brisbane Heat, Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Sixers, qualified for the knockout stage.

Sixers finished on top of the table with 23 points to their name as they won 11 games of the 14 played, and qualified for the finale. Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes clashed in the Eliminator match, and Heat moved on to the Challenger game by defeating the Hurricanes. They faced the Adelaide Strikers next but could not move to the finale as the Strikers confirmed their spot.

It was a cut-throat competition between the Strikers and the Sixers in the finale. The Ellyse Perry-led Sydney Sixers kept their hopes high and did not give up till the end, but fell short of 10 runs during the chase, which handed Adelaide Strikers their first-ever victory and ended their wait for a WBBL championship title.

The Strikers made their first appearance in the WBBL final in 2005, loosing to the Brisbane Heat by six wickets. In WBBL07, they fell to the Perth Scorchers by a heart-breaking 12-run margin. The pre-match favorites were upset as a result of Deandra Dottin, Darcie Brown, and Megan Schutt's outstanding performances, which helped them put the disappointment of a year ago behind them and ultimately win the title.

WBBL 2022: Who won what?

Perth Scorchers’ Beth Mooney finished as the highest run-scorer of the tournament, with 434 runs from 13 innings of 14 matches, at a strike rate of 120.55 and an average of 43.40. She smashed three half-centuries in the tournament, with her best score being 99*.

Adelaide Strikers’ Megan Schutt finished as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker. She picked up 27 wickets in 14 innings of 15 matches, including one five-wicket haul and two four-wicket hauls. She maintained a fine economy of 6.39 and registered 6/19 as her best figure this season.

Sydney Sixers’ Ashleigh Gardner was named the Player of the Tournament. After a poor outing last season, she performed outstandingly this year with the bat as well as with the ball. She scored 339 runs in 13 innings and bagged 23 wickets to finish as the joint third-highest wicket-taker of the tournament.

Melbourne Stars’ Tess Flintoff was selected as the best young player for this season by national selector Shawn Fledger. She scored 116 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 165.71, and also claimed four wickets in the tournament. She scripted history and recorded the tournament’s fastest ever half-century by smashing a record-breaking 16-ball 51*.