The Women's T20 World Cup is the premier tournament in 20-over women's international cricket and it has been a platform for some of the top players in the world to showcase their talent. 

Held every alternate year since the first edition in 2009, the competition has seen some incredible batting performances over the years, with cricketers scoring runs at will and breaking multiple records along the way. 

New Zealand's Suzie Bates is the leading run-scorer in the Women’s T20 World Cup history with 1,066 runs. Furthermore, she became the first batter to breach the 1,000-run mark in the history showpiece event following her match-winning 81* against Bangladesh on February 17, 2023.

Here is the list of players with the most runs in Women's T20 World Cup history.

Most runs in Women’s T20 World Cup

Player Team Matches Runs
Suzie Bates New Zealand 36 1,066
Meg Lanning Australia 35 992
Alyssa Healy Australia 39 941
Stafanie Taylor West Indies 31 926
Charlotte Edwards England 24 768
Mithali Raj India 24 726
Sophie Devine New Zealand 32 671
Chamari Athapaththu Sri Lanka 28 666
Deandra Dottin West Indies 30 650
Nat Sciver England 25 631

Suzie Bates (New Zealand)

Former New Zealand women's cricket team captain Suzie Bates occupies the top spot among cricketers with the most runs in the Women’s T20 World Cup, with a total of 1,066 runs in just 36 matches across eight editions of the tournament.

Bates scored 136 runs in five matches in the inaugural edition as the White Ferns finished as runners-up to hosts England. 

The right-hander continued her exploits in the following edition as well, amassing 111 runs in five matches as her team came within touching distance of winning their first trophy, only to suffer a narrow three-run defeat to Australia in the final.

Meg Lanning (Australia)

Trailing Suzie Bates is the current Australia women's cricket team captain, Meg Lanning, who has amassed a total of 992 runs from 32 innings at an average of 39.68.

The top-order batter, who first played the tournament in 2012, held the record for the most runs in a single edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup when she accumulated 257 runs in the 2014 edition as the Aussies won their third title on the trot. Her record was broken by her compatriot Beth Mooney (259 runs) in 2020.

Moreover, she also holds the record for the highest individual score in Women’s T20 World Cup (126 vs Ireland, 2014).

Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)

Windies’ Stafanie Taylor wraps our list of the top-three cricketers with the most runs in the Women’s T20 World Cup. She’s scored 926 runs in 31 innings at an average of 37.04 in the tournament’s history.

The West Indies Women's cricket team has reached the semi-final stage of the tournament in most editions so far barring the inaugural campaign and Taylor is one of the names that has been a constant.

The Jamaica-born cricketer had the most memorable outing in the competition in 2016, when she led her team to their only Women’s T20 World Cup triumph, getting the better of then three-time defending champions Australia in the final. She scored 59 runs in the summit clash to finish as the leading run-getter - 246 runs in six matches - in the tournament.

Taylor’s all-round performance, which also saw her bag eight wickets, helped her win the Player of the Tournament award.

 

Photo credit: Alamy