Alana King: Age, Career Stats, 7/18 World Cup Record and 85 ODI Wickets

Who is Alana King?

Alana Maria King is an Australian international cricketer born in Clarinda, Victoria, on 22 November 1995. Cricket Australia classifies her as a bowler who bats right-handed and bowls leg-spin. She represented Victoria and Melbourne Stars before moving west, where Western Australia and Perth Scorchers became the foundation for her rise into the national side.

King is primarily a wicket-taking wrist-spinner. Her leg-break is the stock ball, while changes of pace, flight and the ball that turns the other way make a batter decide whether to attack or defend. She has also made useful lower-order runs, including an unbeaten ODI fifty, but her international and WBBL records support bowler as the clearest primary role.

From Victoria to Perth Scorchers and Australia

King entered Victoria's senior system and played for Melbourne Stars in the early Women's Big Bash League seasons. Cricket Australia's profile records a breakout WBBL|06 campaign that earned a place in the tournament team. She then moved to Western Australia seeking a larger opportunity and joined Perth Scorchers for WBBL|07.

The move produced an immediate team milestone. Perth won WBBL|07, and King's three wickets against Sydney Sixers helped the Scorchers progress directly to the final. That season preceded her first Australia call-up for the 2022 Ashes. She debuted in T20I, Test and ODI cricket within a fortnight, then became part of Australia's 2022 ODI World Cup-winning squad.

Her early international ascent was fast, but it followed several domestic seasons rather than appearing from nowhere. The sequence matters: state development, a stronger WBBL role, an Australia opportunity and then performance at global events. A WBBL title and an international World Cup are separate team achievements even when the same season links the pathway.

Six Tests, 15 wickets and the MCG five-for

Cricket Australia's current table lists six Tests and 15 wickets, with an average of 25.73, economy rate of 2.72 and best innings figures of 5 for 53. The five-wicket haul came against England in the day-night Ashes Test at the MCG in February 2025.

King took 4 for 45 in England's first innings and 5 for 53 in the second, finishing with match figures of 9 for 98. Australia won by an innings and 122 runs and completed a 16-0 multi-format Ashes sweep. Her nine wickets belong to one Test; they are already included inside the 15-wicket career total.

She played her sixth Test against India in Perth in March 2026 and took two wickets across the match. Test cricket places different demands on a leg-spinner from white-ball formats: longer spells, slower scoring periods and repeated plans against the same batter. The career row therefore stays separate from her ODI and T20I records.

Women's World Cup record: 7 for 18 against South Africa

King took 7/18 from seven overs against South Africa at Indore on 25 October 2025. ICC recognized it as the best bowling return in Women's Cricket World Cup history. Cricket Australia also recorded it as the best ODI figures by an Australian woman, passing Ellyse Perry's 7 for 22.

South Africa were dismissed for 97 and Australia won by seven wickets. King removed both established and lower-order batters as the innings collapsed, but the result was a team performance and the player-of-the-match spell was one component. The seven wickets sit inside her ODI aggregate and should not be added to it again.

Across the 2025 World Cup, ICC's team-of-the-tournament summary credits King with 13 wickets at an average of 17.38. Australia were eliminated by India in the semi-final, so the record spell did not produce a tournament title. That distinction keeps an exceptional individual campaign separate from the team's final finishing position.

53 ODIs, 85 wickets and the No. 1 ranking

Cricket Australia's current record lists 53 ODIs, 85 wickets, three five-wicket hauls, best figures of 7 for 18, a bowling average of 18.81 and an economy rate of 4.28. Her batting line contains 295 runs and a high score of 51, showing useful lower-order output without changing her bowling role.

King first reached No. 1 in the ICC women's ODI bowling rankings on 3 March 2026 after taking seven wickets in Australia's home series against India. ICC reported that the rise ended Sophie Ecclestone's run of almost four years at the top. A ranking is a dated comparison, not a permanent career title.

She briefly moved back behind Ecclestone, then reclaimed No. 1 on 7 April after taking 5/19 from ten overs against West Indies at Warner Park. Australia won by nine wickets and completed a 3-0 ODI series sweep. The current ICC rankings page still lists King first with 753 rating points at the 23 August check, but future weekly updates can change that order.

The record fifty from number ten against Pakistan

King's unbeaten 51 against Pakistan at Colombo on 8 October 2025 is the only fifty in her current ODI batting line. Australia had fallen to 76 for seven before Beth Mooney and the lower order rebuilt the innings. King joined Mooney late, scored 51 from 49 balls with three fours and three sixes, and helped Australia reach 221 for nine.

ICC recorded the innings as the highest score by a number-ten batter in women's ODIs. Australia then dismissed Pakistan for 114 and won by 107 runs. Mooney's 109 was the central rescue innings, while King's contribution extended the recovery and changed the target; describing both roles is more accurate than presenting the lower-order record in isolation.

The 51 not out is already included in King's 295 ODI career runs and high-score field. It demonstrates batting value without turning a specialist bowler into a statistical all-rounder by label alone. Her primary international record still rests on wicket-taking, while the innings shows that a role can contain useful secondary skills.

The 5 for 19 spell in the West Indies

King's 5 for 19 came in the third ODI against West Indies on 2 April 2026. She bowled ten overs, delivered 44 dot balls and helped dismiss the hosts for 136. Australia chased the target inside 20 overs, with Phoebe Litchfield unbeaten on 68.

The figures were not a new career best because the earlier 7 for 18 remained superior within the ODI record. Their importance was contextual: the spell completed the series, supplied her third ODI five-wicket haul and immediately changed the ranking order. It also demonstrated control, with fewer than two runs conceded per over across a full allocation.

34 T20Is, 34 wickets and Australia's seventh world title

King's complete T20I record through the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup is 34 matches and 34 wickets. Cricket Australia's player card currently stops at 30 matches and 32 wickets after the March West Indies series. ICC tournament records add four World Cup appearances and two wickets, both against South Africa in Australia's opening match, producing the reconciled total.

She appeared against South Africa, Bangladesh, Netherlands and Pakistan during the group stage. Australia later beat West Indies in the semi-final and England at Lord's in the final to win its seventh Women's T20 World Cup. King was a member of the champion squad, although she did not play in the knockout matches; the title should not be used to imply appearances she did not make.

Her T20I career best remains 4 for 8. The 2026 tournament also illustrates selection depth: Australia could change its spin combination while continuing an unbeaten route to the trophy. A squad medal, four tournament appearances and two tournament wickets are all true, but they describe different parts of the campaign.

Perth Scorchers and Alana King's WBBL record

Cricket Australia's table records 134 WBBL appearances and 138 wickets for King, with best figures of 5 for 16, a bowling average of 20.88 and an economy rate of 6.86. She has also scored 696 runs from 77 innings, with a high score of 33 and 31 not-outs.

Those totals cover her WBBL career across Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers rather than Perth alone. The Scorchers remain her current league team, and Cricket Australia's WBBL|12 tracker confirms her contract. A current contract establishes squad membership before the season; it does not guarantee selection in every match or a future wicket tally.

The WBBL row must also remain separate from her T20I line. Both use the 20-over format, but WBBL is a domestic competition and T20Is are matches between national teams. Adding 138 WBBL wickets to 34 T20I wickets would still not create a complete all-T20 career total because other domestic competitions are also involved.

Birmingham Phoenix and The Hundred 2026 contract

Birmingham Phoenix selected King as an overseas player for The Hundred 2026 at a listed price of £37,500. The competition's official squad page identifies that price as her auction value for the season. It is a defined contract figure, not a statement of take-home pay, annual earnings or personal wealth.

The move followed earlier Hundred cricket with Trent Rockets. On her competition debut in 2022, King took 4 for 15, scored 19 not out from nine balls and completed the first hat-trick in the women's Hundred. That historical performance belongs to Trent Rockets and should not be transferred into her Birmingham statistics.

Phoenix's eight group fixtures ran from 24 July to 12 August 2026. The official roster establishes her Birmingham membership, while match scorecards govern appearances and wickets. Perth remains the primary current link because her next confirmed domestic season is WBBL|12.

How Alana King's records fit together

Tests, ODIs and T20Is are separate international formats. ODIs also sit inside women's List A cricket, while T20Is, WBBL and other domestic competitions sit inside broader women's T20 records. The same wicket cannot be counted twice merely because it appears in an international row and a wider category.

Tournament records need similar care. The 7 for 18 is simultaneously King's ODI career best, Australia's best women's ODI return and the Women's World Cup's best bowling return. Those are three scopes for one spell, not three performances. Her 5 for 19 is a different ODI spell and her 5 for 53 is a Test innings return.

Rankings answer another question. No. 1 reflects relative performance under the ICC ratings system on a particular update date. It does not replace the underlying 85 wickets or prove she will remain first after future series. Dated figures let readers see the achievement without turning a changing table into a permanent claim.

Family background, earnings and net worth

Cricket Australia has reported that King's parents, Leroy and Sharon, are from Chennai, while she was born and raised in Victoria. That public family detail helps explain her connection to India and her comments when she first played there. It does not justify guessing private addresses or relationships.

The dependable financial evidence here is the £37,500 Hundred 2026 auction value. No audited public record establishes King's net worth, total earnings or assets. National contracts, match payments, WBBL terms, endorsements, taxes and agent fees are not fully disclosed in one confirmed statement, so a league price cannot be converted into total wealth.