Upstox Greatest Players: England's trailblazer and gun fielder Jan Brittin
In the ICC’s Upstox Greatest Players series, we look at some of the best performers in the history of the tournament.
***
Jan Brittin has been lauded as one of the most influential figures in the development of England’s women’s cricket team, with players of the likes of Charlotte Edwards and Ebony Rainford-Brent crediting Brittin as an inspiration on their careers.
Brittin, who was posthumously inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2021, scored a mountain of runs in both Test and ODI cricket. But she was also a gun fielder, often utilised as a specialist in the covers.
And her brilliance in the field is reflected in the numbers, with Brittin taking more catches at Women’s World Cups than any other non-wicketkeeper.
ICC Hall of Fame | Janette Brittin: 'One of the best England ever produced'
WORLD CUP PEDIGREE
Brittin snaffled 19 catches in 26 World Cup matches in the field, one of just two players in the tournament’s history to have taken more than 15 catches (excluding keepers), with India’s Jhulan Goswami the only other player to have done so.
The right-hander is also one of only five women to have scored more than a thousand runs at World Cups.
ICC Hall of Fame 2021 | Brittin, Jayawardena and Pollock inducted
Her 1299 tournament runs came from 35 innings at an average of 43.30. Only New Zealand legend Debbie Hockley has scored more, and only Charlotte Edwards of England can match her tally of four World Cup centuries.
STAND-OUT PERFORMANCE
Brittin’s multi-skilled brilliance was on show in the World Cup Final in 1993 as she inspired England’s win over New Zealand.
Her 48 at the top of the order for England was the highest individual score in the match, and she helped finished the job as England successfully defended their total of 195/5, holding on to a trademark catch to take the 10th and final New Zealand wicket.
BRITTIN'S CAREER RECORDS
By the time she retired in 1988, Brittin laid claim to most major batting records in women’s cricket.
Her 1935 Test runs remain the benchmark in women’s cricket, while she was second for the most ODI runs (2,121) when she retired. At that stage, she had the record for the most ODI tons.
She is still the record holder for women’s Test centuries with five, one clear of Edwards and three clear of any active player.
The first two of those centuries came in 1984, a year in which she amassed 531 runs at 75.85. That remains the benchmark for a Test calendar year in women’s cricket. She also has the bronze medal in that category courtesy of her 1998 haul of 450 at 112.5 with two centuries.
No one in women’s cricket has played more than her 27 Tests.
