Marizanne Kapp single-handedly demolished England Women in the first semifinal of the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup in Guwahati. The fast bowler, with her 5-20, recorded the best-ever ODI figures of her career to push South Africa into their first World Cup final ever.
Moreover, during her performance, Marizanne Kapp also wrote her name as the greatest bowler ever in the ICC Women’s World Cup matches. While Kapp’s milestone was being celebrated, here is a relook at the five bowlers who have got the highest number of wickets in ICC Women World Cup history with an updated count.
Most Wickets in the Women’s World Cup
5. Carole Hodges (England Women) – 37 wickets
Carole Hodges, the former England off-spinner, took 37 scalps in as many as 24 ICC Women World Cup matches during the period between 1982 and 1993. The bowler maintained an incredible tournament bowling average of merely 14.86, which was among the best when compared to other bowlers with more than 30 wickets. She was an integral part of the England team that lifted the 1993 ICC World Cup at home. Besides, it is worth noting that the 37 sticks in Carole’s World Cup collection are a significant part of her career ODI tally of 58 wickets in 41 innings.
4. Megan Schutt (Australia Women) – 39 wickets
Skilful pacer Megan Schutt is tied with the other great Australian bowlers as the equal most successful bowler of all times in the ICC Women World Cup events. Plus, she was instrumental in the win of Australia at the World Cup in 2013 and 2022 which were held in India and New Zealand, respectively. Over the course of 28 World Cup matches, Schutt has taken 39 wickets with a very good bowling average of 25.53, and at the same time, her economy rate was just 4.44. Even though she is known as one of the best female bowlers of all time, Schutt is still unable to shine in the ongoing 2025 World Cup, as she has taken only five wickets in her first five matches of the tournament till now.
3. Lyn Fullston (Australia Women) – 39 wickets
The late Australian spinner Lyn Fullston, who was a left-arm bowlers, got 73 ODI wickets during her 41-match career from 1982 to 1988. It is amazing that 39 of those wickets were just taken in ICC Women World Cup matches, and only in 20 innings Fullston got such an incredible mark. Lyn Fullston’s bowling average of 11.94 is the best among all World Cup bowlers with 30 or more wickets, not to mention 39. The two five-wicket hauls she took in her ODI career were both in World Cup matches. To add to her brilliant international statistic, Fullston and her teammates not only played but also won both World Cup editions (1982 and 1988).
2. Jhulan Goswami (India Women) – 43 wickets
The ICC fast bowler from India, Jhulan Goswami had taken 43 wickets in a total of 34 World Cup matches which include her participation in five different editions between 2005 to 2022. It is true that the celebrated Indian cricketer never won the precious trophy during her career, but she was very close in the 2005 and 2017 editions held in South Africa and England respectively. Jhulan Goswami had a very controlled bowling average of 21.74 along with a very economical rate of 3.45, while at the same time playing in an era where T20 cricket was rapidly transforming ODI’s run-scoring rate. What is more impressive is that Goswami is also the overall leading wicket-taker in ODI history with 255 wickets in just 203 innings.
1.Marizanne Kapp (South Africa Women) – 44 wickets.
The remarkable all-rounder from South Africa, Marizanne Kapp, became the most successful bowler in the history of women’s World Cup cricket when she annihilated the English side in the first semifinal of the 2025 tournament. The bowler had an impressive outing as she got 5 wickets to her name which made her the first to surpass the previous record of 43 wickets set by the Indian bowler Jhulan Goswami. Marizanne is now at the top of the list with 44 wickets taken in 28 innings of women’s World Cup matches, boasting a remarkable average of 20.81 and an impressive strike rate of 28.43. Moreover, both of Marizanne Kapp’s five-wicket hauls in ODIs have taken place in the World Cup ICC event.
