Nicole Bolton

A geeky opening batswoman, Nicole Bolton struck gold in her very first outing for the Southern Stars. In the side as a replacement in the first place, she notched up the highest score by an Australian in ODIs, with a stroke-filled innings of 124 off 152 balls in 2014. Not only did her knock against arch-rivals England keep the Aussies in the reckoning for the Ashes, it also made Bolton a household name.

Towards the end of the year, she made the transition to Victoria from Western Australia in the quest of more opportunities. Her consistent scores with the bat at the top of the order in the second season of the WBBL took her side to the finals. One of her finest moments came in the World Cup of 2017 when she started off the tournament with an unbeaten century to take her side home in the clash against the Windies.

Her only Test appearance came in 2015 against England at Canterbury. With a solid defence and the ability to up her game with some aggressive shots, she remains one of the more important pieces of the Aussie backbone.

Vineet Anantharaman