Dubai : Women’s World Cup centurions continued to make headlines this week as South Africa’s opening batter Tazmin Brits rose two spots to a career-high fourth position in the latest ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings. Moreover, Brits moved into fourth place among batters after scoring a brilliant 101 in the Proteas’ six-wicket win over New Zealand in the Women’s World Cup on Monday.
Brits’ century is her fifth this year, setting a record for the most three-figure scores by a woman cricketer in a single calendar year. Consequently, South Africa bounced back in impressive fashion after their loss to England in their campaign opener.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Ash Gardner moved up to fifth place among batters, a personal best, after jumping seven spots to 697 rating points, just behind Brit’s 706.
Her previous best finish was 10th place in January this year. Gardner’s improvement came as a result of a spectacular 115 runs off 83 balls in their tournament debut against the White Ferns, a match Australia won by 89 runs.
In contrast, New Zealand captain Sophie Devine has risen seven places to equal her career-best eighth position in the batters’ rankings after scoring 112 and 85 in losses to Australia and South Africa. Notably, the last time she reached this position was in October 2024.
Additionally, Pakistan opener Sidra Amin’s 81-run innings against India earned her a personal best, jumping three places to 10th — her first appearance in the top 10 of the Women’s ODI Batting Rankings, after previously being ranked 13th in December 2023.
Furthermore, India’s Deepti Sharma improved her ranking, moving up one place to 17th after scoring 53 against Sri Lanka and 25 against Pakistan.
At the same time, South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp moved one spot up to fifth in the ICC Women’s ODI Bowling Rankings. Meanwhile, her teammate Nonkululeko Mlaba’s four-wicket performance against New Zealand elevated her six positions, reaching a career-high 13th place with 589 points. Her previous best was 19th in September this year.
Finally, Australia’s Alana King moved up from eighth to seventh in the latest update. At the same time, her fellow Australian Annabel Sutherland is just 19 points behind Mlaba, with a total of 570, and now ranks 14th — her career-best position. Her previous highest ranking was 17th in December 2024.
— IANS
