South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt on Tuesday replaced Australian batter Alyssa Healy as the No. 1 batter while India skipper Mithali Raj climbed three places to be at the sixth spot in the latest ICC women’s ODI rankings.
Wolvaardt has scored more runs (433) at the Women’s World Cup than any other player. She has made five half-centuries from seven innings, with her top score of 90 coming against tournament favorites Australia in Wellington last week.
The stylish South African batter moved up two places and overtook two Australians in the process to claim the top ranking. She replaced Australia wicket-keeper Healy, who dropped four places to now be rated fifth in the Women’s ODI rankings.
Healy’s teammate Beth Mooney remains in second place in the rankings, with Australia captain Meg Lanning (third) and England veteran Nat Sciver (fourth) rounding out the remainder of the top five batters on the latest rankings.
Mithali Raj’s fifty against South Africa helped her make a three-place jump to No 6. However, the match ended in heartbreak for the Indian skipper as her team crashed out of the World Cup in a last-ball thriller.
Among other Indians, opener Smriti Mandhana occupied the tenth position. Veteran Jhulan Goswami is the only bowler from India in the top ten, while she has company from Deepti Sharma in the all-rounders’ category.
While there is plenty of movement in the latest rankings for the batter, the same cannot be said for the bowling or all-rounder rankings.
England spinner Sophie Ecclestone — who is the leading wicket-taker at the World Cup with 14 scalps — remains the highest-ranked bowler, while Australia’s Jess Jonassen is second.
In-form South Africa seamer Shabnim Ismail moves up one spot to take third in the rankings from Australia veteran Megan Schutt, while India pacer Jhulan Goswami rockets up two places to fifth.
It’s status quo in the all-rounder ranks, with Australia veteran Ellyse Perry remaining at the top of the rankings and the top eight players retaining their current spots. England’s Katherine Brunt moves up two places to ninth, while Goswami loses one spot to drop to 10th.
Pakistan all-rounder Nida Dar — fresh from 118 runs and 10 wickets at the World Cup — moves up four places to 12th, while Bangladesh veteran Salma Khatun is up to seven spots to 19th.
