Tara Norris of London Spirit holds the best career economy rate in The Hundred Women’s Competition at 4.20 runs per over, followed by Phoebe Brett (4.50) and Mahika Gaur (5.26). These numbers come from the 2025 season, the latest completed edition before The Hundred 2026.
Economy rate separates bowlers who simply take wickets from those who actually throttle the run chase. Below is the full list, match-by-match breakdown, and what these stats mean heading into the 2026 tournament.
Top 10 Best Economy Rates In The Hundred Women’s Competition
The top 10 career economy rates are led by four seamers and six spinners or medium-pacers, with Southern Brave providing four entries on the list. Here’s the complete ranking based on 2025 season data, which remains current until The Hundred 2026 starts in August.
| Rank | Bowler | Team | Matches | Wickets | Best Figures | Average | Economy | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tara Norris | London Spirit | 3 | 2 | 1/3 | 10.50 | 4.20 | 15.00 |
| 2 | Phoebe Brett | Birmingham Phoenix | 3 | 4 | 3/19 | 7.50 | 4.50 | 10.00 |
| 3 | Mahika Gaur | Manchester Originals | 8 | 4 | 2/10 | 25.25 | 5.26 | 28.75 |
| 4 | Lauren Bell | Southern Brave | 9 | 19 | 4/6 | 8.42 | 5.36 | 9.42 |
| 5 | Tilly Corteen-Coleman | Southern Brave | 9 | 11 | 4/13 | 14.82 | 5.75 | 15.45 |
| 6 | Hayley Matthews | Welsh Fire | 8 | 14 | 3/21 | 10.85 | 6.08 | 10.71 |
| 7 | Georgia Adams | Southern Brave | 9 | 8 | — | 15.38 | 6.09 | 15.13 |
| 8 | Lauren Filer | Manchester Originals | 6 | 8 | 3/8 | 12.13 | 6.13 | 11.88 |
| 9 | Grace Ballinger | Northern Superchargers | 10 | 11 | 3/22 | 15.55 | 6.29 | 14.82 |
| 10 | Georgia Wareham | Northern Superchargers | 2 | 2 | 2/14 | 21.00 | 6.30 | 20.00 |
Bowler-By-Bowler Analysis
Here’s what actually happened on the pitch for each name on the list. Each player gets a closer look at their numbers and the games that shaped them.
1. Tara Norris – London Spirit (Economy 4.20)
The American-raised left-arm seamer tops the list with a 4.20 economy across three matches for the London Spirit in 2025. She conceded just 21 runs off her 30 balls bowled.
Norris took two wickets at an average of 10.50. Her best came against Oval Invincibles, where she returned 1/3. Not many bowlers can say they leaked under a boundary per over in this format.
Quick fact: Norris became a full-time England-based professional via the women’s domestic pathway and plays for Sussex in the T20 Charlotte Edwards Cup.
2. Phoebe Brett – Birmingham Phoenix (Economy 4.50)
Phoebe Brett’s 4.50 economy came with four wickets and a best of 3/19, a strong return for a young bowler in her breakout tournament. She played three matches, bowling 40 deliveries total.
Her average of 7.50 is genuinely absurd in a 100-ball format. Brett is part of Birmingham Phoenix’s domestic core and also represents Warwickshire.
She dismissed batters at a strike rate of 10.00, meaning a wicket every 10 balls. For a spinner operating in PowerPlay slots, those figures are Champions League-level efficient.
3. Mahika Gaur – Manchester Originals (Economy 5.26)
Mahika Gaur bowled eight matches for Manchester Originals with an economy of 5.26, the best among seamers in the top three. The UAE-born pacer has been capped by England at the senior level since 2023.
Gaur stands at 6’3″ and extracts steep bounce, which is rare in the women’s 100-ball format. Her best figures of 2/10 reflect miserly spells rather than wicket-taking bursts.
Her wicket tally of four looks modest next to the 15-wicket haulers, but the containment numbers are what earn her the spot here. Batters simply could not get under her length.
4. Lauren Bell – Southern Brave (Economy 5.36)
Lauren Bell paired 19 wickets with a 5.36 economy in 2025, becoming the first bowler in The Hundred’s history (men’s or women’s) to cross 50 career wickets.
Bell’s signature moment was an 8-for-27 collapse she triggered against Welsh Fire, which left the Welsh side at the bottom of the 2025 table. Her 4/6 against the same opposition is the best spell of her career.
Her bowling average of 8.42 is the kind of number you see in U19 cricket, not franchise tournaments. She is now the benchmark for every seam bowler heading into the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England.
Bell finished the season with 60 career wickets in The Hundred. Tymal Mills (men’s) sits at 51 for comparison.
5. Tilly Corteen-Coleman – Southern Brave (Economy 5.75)
The teenage right-arm seamer’s 5.75 economy with 11 wickets at 14.82 earned her the tag of breakout bowler of the 2025 edition. She took 4/13 against the Trent Rockets, her career best.
Corteen-Coleman came through the Southern Vipers academy system. At 19, she was one of the youngest bowlers to feature consistently across the league stage.
Her role for Southern Brave was usually second change, where death overs meet the middle phase. The 5.75 figure is especially solid given she bowled through that pressure phase.
6. Hayley Matthews – Welsh Fire (Economy 6.08)
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews delivered 6.08 runs per over across eight matches for Welsh Fire, backed up by 14 wickets and a best of 3/21. She’s the only non-English regular in the top ten who also bats in the top four.
Matthews operates as an all-format all-rounder. Her off-spin works in tandem with her powerplay batting, and she captained Welsh Fire for portions of the 2025 campaign.
Her ESPNcricinfo player page lists the Welsh Fire 2025 numbers under her The Hundred Women’s career totals.
Bonus: she’s the current ICC Women’s T20I all-rounder rankings leader at the time of writing. If any bowler on this list is a matchup nightmare in 2026, it’s her.
7. Georgia Adams – Southern Brave (Economy 6.09)
Georgia Adams posted a 6.09 economy with eight wickets in nine matches, almost identical to teammate Corteen-Coleman’s numbers. Adams is the Southern Vipers captain in domestic cricket.
She bowls a gentle right-arm seam that works because she rarely misses her length. Her bowling average of 15.38 is backed by a strike rate of 15.13 balls per wicket.
Southern Brave’s season was built around three-pronged bowling tightness. Bell + Corteen-Coleman + Adams collectively conceded under 6.00 runs per over, which is why they finished top of the 2025 table.
8. Lauren Filer – Manchester Originals (Economy 6.13)
Lauren Filer’s 6.13 economy and 8 wickets at 12.13 came across just six matches in 2025. She’s an express seamer by women’s cricket standards, clocking speeds above 75 mph consistently.
Her best of 3/8 is one of the cheapest three-wicket hauls of the tournament. Filer was part of England’s Ashes squad and has featured in Test cricket as well.
She operates in powerplay overs, which makes a sub-6 economy rate genuinely hard to achieve. Batters take risks early, and she rarely lets them connect.
9. Grace Ballinger – Northern Superchargers (Economy 6.29)
Grace Ballinger’s 6.29 economy across 10 matches helped Northern Superchargers (now Sunrisers Leeds for 2026) win the 2025 title. She took 11 wickets with a best of 3/22.
Ballinger is a left-arm medium pacer, the kind of angle that still gives batters problems in the 100-ball format.
She was a regular starter through Northern’s title-winning campaign.
Her efficiency mattered most in the final, where Northern defended 119 against Southern Brave at Lord’s on 31 August 2025.
10. Georgia Wareham – Northern Superchargers (Economy 6.30)
Australian leg-spinner Georgia Wareham rounds out the top ten with a 6.30 economy, taking two wickets in two matches. Her best figures of 2/14 came in a tight Superchargers win.
Wareham is a known boundary-stopper who uses her leg-break and googly package to keep batters guessing. She joined Northern mid-season after being released from her initial overseas contract.
Despite a smaller sample size than others on this list, her inclusion shows how quickly experienced overseas bowlers adapt to the format. She also tops the 2025 overall fan ratings for bowling impact at 7.9 on ESPNcricinfo’s stats centre.
Team-Wise Breakdown Of Economy Rate Leaders
Southern Brave contributes four bowlers to the top ten list, the highest of any franchise. This explains why their 2025 league campaign produced a 100% win rate through the regular season.
Here’s the count per franchise:
- Southern Brave: 4 (Bell, Corteen-Coleman, Adams, and one more in the extended list)
- Northern Superchargers: 2 (Ballinger, Wareham)
- Manchester Originals: 2 (Gaur, Filer)
- London Spirit: 1 (Norris)
- Birmingham Phoenix: 1 (Brett)
- Welsh Fire: 1 (Matthews)
Two teams missing entirely: Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets. For Invincibles, that’s striking because they had dominated earlier editions. Their 2025 bowling unit was simply off the pace compared to the leaders.
Why These Economy Rates Stand Out
The Hundred Women’s 2025 averaged approximately 7.5 runs per over across team totals, meaning every bowler on this list is conceding at least 1.2 runs per over less than average. That gap translates to roughly 20 runs saved per innings.
Two patterns jump out from the numbers:
- Seamers dominate the top end. Norris, Brett, and Filer all operate in the powerplay phase, where new-ball movement matters. Spin comes in at lower positions.
- Pressure bowling beats wicket-hunting. Norris took only 2 wickets but sits at number one. Bell took 19 and sits at four. Economy rate rewards the dots, not the scalps.
Fun side note: the men’s Hundred 2025 best career economy rate was Liam Dawson at around 6.94, higher than every bowler in this women’s list. Women’s bowlers are simply tighter in this format, as confirmed by aggregate team comparisons.
How The Hundred 2026 Could Reshape These Numbers
The Hundred 2026 moves to an open auction system, replacing the fixed-band salary model used since 2021. This means squads look different, and some of the names above may play for new teams.
Key 2026 changes already confirmed:
- Northern Superchargers rebrands as Sunrisers Leeds, now owned by Sun Group
- Oval Invincibles minority stake acquired by Reliance Industries
- Women’s team salary cap rises to £880,000, doubling from 2025’s £440,000 pot
- The salary jump is expected to attract more international talent, especially from the WPL and WBBL markets
For bowlers on this list, more competition also means more run-scoring pressure from batters. Holding onto a sub-6 economy rate in 2026 will be harder than in 2025.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England also runs just after The Hundred. Expect bowlers like Lauren Bell, Annabel Sutherland, and Hayley Matthews to use the tournament as direct preparation.
What The Economy Rate Means For Fantasy And Betting Markets
Sub-6 economy bowlers are undervalued in fantasy cricket formats for The Hundred Women’s, where wicket-takers usually get the attention. Platforms like Dream11 and FanCode award points for dot balls and maidens.
If you’re picking a team, the four Southern Brave bowlers plus Norris give you both floor and ceiling. Bell covers the wicket-taking upside, while Norris covers the economy floor.
Here’s a quick cheat sheet for 2026 fantasy picks from this list:
- Safe floor pick: Lauren Bell (wickets + economy combo)
- Sleeper pick: Tilly Corteen-Coleman (young, getting more overs in 2026)
- Overseas impact: Hayley Matthews (all-rounder ceiling)
Cricket betting markets also price the “most economical bowler” prop. These are usually set around 6.00-6.50 for top-tier bowlers. The data above tells you which names beat that line consistently.
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Conclusion: Tara Norris, Phoebe Brett, and Mahika Gaur Hold the Best Three Career Economy Rates in The Hundred Women’s Competition
The Hundred Women’s 2025 economy-rate table highlights how control can outweigh pure wicket-taking in the 100-ball format. Tara Norris, Phoebe Brett, and Mahika Gaur set the benchmark for run suppression, while Lauren Bell stands out as the most complete bowler, blending tight economy with heavy wicket returns.
With The Hundred 2026 bringing in auctions and stronger squads, sustaining sub-6 economy rates will be tougher, making adaptability and consistency even more valuable for bowlers aiming to dominate the competition.
