T20 World Cup stars make gains on latest rankings update
Strong performances during the early stages of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup has seen a major reshuffle on the updated ICC Women's T20I Player Rankings.
South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt is the leading run-scorer at the tournament thus far with 101 runs from two innings and the classy right-hander improved two places to third on the latest T20I batter rankings.
Australia duo Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath remain at the head of the T20I batter rankings, but Wolvaardt takes some ground off the leading pair and a group of other players have also made their move.
South Africa dasher Tazmin Brits gains two places to move to sixth, New Zealand veteran Suzie Bates moves up two spots to seventh, while India captain Harmanpreet Kaur climbs four rungs to equal 12th following her innings of 29* against Pakistan in Dubai.
England opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge (up two places to equal 18th), Pakistan veteran Nida Dar (up three rungs to 37th), Scotland right-hander Sarah Bryce (up two spots to 41st) and South Africa all-rounder Marizanne Kapp (up six places to 44th) also make some ground on the latest rankings for T20I batters, while the battle for the premier position on the updated T20I bowler rankings is as tight as ever.
England spinner Sophie Eccclestone holds a narrow lead at the top of the pile following her two scalps against South Africa on Monday, with Pakistan counterpart Sadia Iqbal making the eye-catching jump as she gains one spot to move into second.
Ecclestone began the 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup as the top-ranked T20I bowler, a position she had held since February 2020.
However, on October 3, Sadia Iqbal of Pakistan delivered an outstanding performance, taking 3-17 against Sri Lanka, tying Ecclestone with 757 points at the top of the rankings.
Just two days later, Ecclestone went wicketless against Bangladesh, dropping to second place with 750 points, seven behind Sadia. Despite this brief reign, Sadia became the first Pakistani player to top the T20I rankings, following in the footsteps of Sana Mir, who led the ODI bowling rankings in 2018-2019.
Ecclestone reclaimed her number one spot on October 7 with a player-of-the-match display against South Africa, ending Sadia's short reign. This marked the first time Ecclestone had fallen from the top spot in nearly four years.
Iqbal has four wickets from two matches at the T20 World Cup and closes in on the No.1 bowler ranking as a result, while England's Sarah Glenn (up one spot to third), Australia all-rounder Ash Gardner (up three places to sixth), Bangladesh spinner Rebeya (up one rung to ninth) and experienced quick Megan Schutt (up nine spots to 10th) also make some ground inside the top 10.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews retains her healthy lead at the head of the T20I all-rounder rankings, with New Zealand star Amelia Kerr (up one place to third) and Kapp (up two places to seventh) making some gains.