Gardner and Mandhana surge up ICC Women's T20I Rankings
The updated rankings come after the opening six matches of the Commonwealth Games, and it is Australia’s all-rounder Gardner who benefits most from her impact on the showcase tournament in Birmingham.
The all-rounder’s match-winning effort against India got her campaign off to a great start, with four tidy overs going for just 23 runs before she smashed an unbeaten 52* from just 35 balls to lead the Aussies to the win.
But better was to come for Gardner against Barbados, with the off-spinner returning extraordinary figures of 2/6 from four overs, playing her part in a huge win.
Those performances mean the 25-year-old is up four places to No.3 position on the all-rounder rankings, five places to 11th on the batting rankings, and 19 places to 26th on the bowling rankings.
Australia stars Meg Lanning and Beth Mooney remain in the top two spots, but India’s Smriti Mandhana now completes the top three, usurping Kiwi Sophie Devine.
New Zealand’s Suzie Bates is the biggest mover inside the top ten leapfrogging Australia opener Alyssa Healy and Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu into sixth.
The top three remains unchanged, with England spinner Sophie Ecclestone topping the chart ahead of Sarah Glenn and Katherine Brunt.
Australia veteran Jess Jonassen jumps ahead of South Africa pacer Shabnim Ismail into fourth, while West Indies star Hayley Matthews is the sole new arrival in the top ten, replacing Ayabonga Khaka.
Devine and Natalie Sciver remain at one and two in the all-rounder rankings, with Gardner now making up the top three.
There are no new arrivals in the top ten, but further back there has been a huge leap from Australia’s Tahlia McGrath, who rises a remarkable 47 spots to 26.