Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Women’s Rankings launched in Mumbai
Claire Taylor of England , India captain Jhulan Goswami and Australia ’s Lisa Stha
lekar are on top of the world in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Women’s Rankings which were launched in Mumbai on Thursday.Thirty-three-year-old Taylor spearheads a strong field of six England batters in the top 20 while fast bowler Jhulan leads the bowlers’ chart and Sthalekar is just ahead of her team-mate Shelley Nitschke in the all-rounders’ listing.
The rankings have been introduced as part of the ICC’s continued promotion of women’s cricket. They will initially apply to ODI cricket only and will help identify where the leading players stand in women’s international cricket to add further competition and context to their achievements.
Sanjay Behl, head of branding at Reliance Communications, said: “Reliance Mobile is privileged to be associated with the launch of the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Women’s Rankings.
“These rankings are the authoritative player rating guide, the first of its kind, which will officially recognise the talent and achievements of the game’s leading players. Through the rankings system we hope that Reliance Mobile can play an important role in making the profile of individual players more prominent and contribute to the expansion of the sport.
“We are excited about this encouraging development and are proud to be associated with the overall ICC Rankings for cricketers in the international arena,” he added.
David Richardson , ICC General Manager – Cricket, added: “The ICC believes that great progress has been made in the development of the women’s game since the merger with the International Women’s Cricket Council in 2005.
“Through the development of the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Player Rankings, we hope to bring added profile to the leading stars in the women’s game, as part of our long-term commitment to growing the sport across the globe.
“With tournaments such as the ICC Women’s World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20 providing an exciting opportunity to bring increased attention to the game’s top players, there has never been a more exciting time in the history of women’s cricket.”
Leading batter Claire Taylor is one of 13 women cricketers to have played 100 or more ODIs and is the only female cricketer above the 800 ratings points mark. In women’s ranking terms, 800 points marks out a player as truly remarkable.
The England player heads the list clear of India ’s Mithali Raj and Lisa Sthalekar of Australia .
Taylor said: “To be number-one batsman in the world means a lot to me. It’s something that I’ve been aiming for since the World Cup in 2000, the point where I really thought I could have an impact on the game.
“However, it’s not the most important thing this year. There are personal battles to be fought against great rivals, a World Cup to contest and perhaps win and an Ashes duel to finish off what promises to be an amazing 12 months.”
Jhulan, the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2007, leads the bowling table from England ’s Isa Guha and Shelley Nitschke of Australia .
Sthalekar says she is delighted to be on top of the all-rounders’ rankings. “It’s great that the ICC is supporting women’s cricket through the launch of the player rankings. It will add interest to the women’s game and increase the profiles of the top players in the world.
“Hopefully this will give greater exposure to the women’s cricket and provide more sponsorship opportunities as well,” she said.
The first set of the rankings have been released ahead of the eagerly awaited series between Australia and India to be played in Sydney and Canberra from 31 October to 9 November.
The other series to be played in a lead up to the ICC Women’s World Cup in March 2009 includes the five-match ODI series between the Sri Lanka and West Indies in Sri Lanka from 5 November to 12 November and the traditional Rose Bowl series between New Zealand and Australia in New Zealand from 1 to 12 February.
Next year will be huge for women’s cricket with the ICC Women’s World Cup to be played in Sydney , Australia , from 7 to 22 March. This will be the first time the biggest event in women’s cricket will be played under the banner of the ICC following the merger with the International Women’s Cricket Council in 2005.
Then in June, the ICC World Twenty20 in England will include a men’s and women’s competition running simultaneously. The semi-finals and final of the women’s event will be played at the same venue on the same day as the men’s tournament.
About Reliance Communications: Reliance Communications Limited, founded by the late Shri Dhirubhai H Ambani (1932-2002) is the flagship company of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group currently has net worth in excess of Rs. 40,000 crore, cash flows of Rs. 9,000 crore, net profit of Rs. 5,000 crore and zero net debt.
Rated among “Asia's Top Five Most Valuable Telecom Companies”, Reliance Communications is India ’s foremost and truly integrated telecommunications service provider. The company, with a customer base of around 46.5 million including over 1.4 million individual overseas retail customers, ranks among the Top 10 Asian Telecom companies by number of customers. Reliance Communications’ corporate clientele includes 1850 Indian and multinational corporations, and over 200 global carriers.
Reliance Communications has established a pan-India, next generation, integrated (wireless and wireline), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network that is capable of supporting best-of-class services spanning the entire infocomm value chain, covering over 15,000 towns and 400,000 villages. Reliance Communications owns and operates the world's largest next generation IP enabled connectivity infrastructure, comprising over 175,000 kilometers of fibre optic cable systems in India , USA , Europe, Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.
Women’s ODIs before the ICC Women’s World Cup:
India in Australia
31 October – First ODI, Hurstville, Sydney
1 November – Second ODI, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
5 November – Third ODI, North Sydney Oval
8 November – Fourth ODI, Manuka Oval, Canberra
9 November – Fifth ODI, Manuka Oval, Canberra
West Indies in Sri Lanka
5 November – First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
7 November – Second ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
9 November – Third ODI, Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala
11 November – Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
12 November – Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Australia in New Zealand (Rose Bowl Series)
1 February – First ODI, Cobham Oval, Whangarei
3 February – Second ODI, Cobham Oval, Whangarei
6 February – Third ODI (d/n), Seddon Park , Hamilton
8 February – Fourth ODI, Seddon Park , Hamilton
12 February – Fifth ODI, Basin Reserve, Wellington
Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Rankings (as of 16 October)
Batters
Rank Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 Claire Taylor Eng 804 39.13 820 v NZ at Blackpool 2007
2 Mithali Raj Ind 728 47.93 827 v Aus at Baroda Vadodar 2004
3 Lisa Sthalekar Aus 722 35.47 783 v NZ at Darwin 2007
4 Sarah Taylor Eng 699* 40.11 706 v Ind at Taunton 2008
5 C.M.Edwards Eng 658 37.05 694 v SA at Pretoria 2005
6 Nicola Browne NZ 653! 30.21 653 v Aus at Lincoln 2008
7 Karen Rolton Aus 620 49.54 867 v Ind at Vapi 2004
8 Alex Blackwell Aus 597! 30.46 597 v NZ at Lincoln 2008
9 S.Nitschke Aus 573*! 25.85 573 v NZ at Lincoln 2008
10 Sara McGlashen NZ 568 23.09 584 v Eng at Derby 2007
11 Haidee Tiffen NZ 557 29.50 764 v Ind at Lincoln 2006
12 Aimee Mason NZ 549 22.20 616 v Eng at Blackpool 2007
13 Jaya Sharma Ind 516 31.92 686 v Aus at Vapi 2004
14 Lydia Greenway Eng 489 22.55 512 v Aus at Sydney 2008
15 Anjum Chopra Ind 478 34.71 749 v Aus at Adelaide 2006
16 Jenny Gunn Eng 472 22.37 543 v Aus at Melbourne 2008
17= Dedunu Silva SL 468* 20.14 479 v Ind at Kurunegala 2008
Caroline Atkins Eng 468* 28.46 476 v Ind at Taunton 2008
19 Cri-Zelda Brits SA 466* 29.24 531 v NET at Stellenbosch 2008
20 Caitriona Beggs Ire 460 24.83 551 v NET at Dublin 2006
Bowlers
Rank Player Team Points Ave Econ HS Rating
1 Jhulan Goswami Ind 741 21.06 797 v Eng at Chennai 2007
2 Isa Guha Eng 720 18.43 741 v Ind at Taunton 2008
3 S.Nitschke Aus 675*! 22.27 675 v NZ at Lincoln 2008
4 Holly Colvin Eng 619* 19.90 632 v Ind at Arundel 2008
5 Jenny Gunn Eng 593 31.22 673 v Aus at Melbourne 2008
6 Emma Sampson Aus 548*! 25.17 548 v NZ at Lincoln 2008
7 Aimee Mason NZ 547 32.90 586 v Aus at Darwin 2007
8 Nicola Browne NZ 546 33.75 648 v Eng at Shenley 2007
9= Lisa Sthalekar Aus 545 29.10 602 v NZ at Brisbane 2006
Katherine Brunt Eng 545* 26.33 560 v Ind at Taunton 2008
11 Kirsten Pike Aus 540* 22.56 567 v NZ at Lincoln 2008
12 Rumeli Dhar Ind 534* 31.50 610 v SL at Dambulla 2008
13 Amita Sharma Ind 523 29.12 650 v Pak at Karachi 2005
14 Neetu David Ind 506 16.34 794 v WI at Pretoria 2005
15 Nicky Shaw Eng 502* 32.93 517 v Ind at Taunton 2008
16 Alicia Smith SA 494* 22.10 538 v Ire at Crowthorne 2008
17 Sajida Shah Pak 491* 26.48 499 v NET at Stellenbosch 2008
18= Ashlyn Kilowan SA 483*! 20.16 483 v Eng at Shenley 2008
Sarah Andrews Aus 483*! 21.62 483 v NZ at Lincoln 2008
20 Sophie Devine NZ 468*! 37.42 468 v Aus at Lincoln 2008
All-rounders
Rank Player Team Points HS Rating
1 Lisa Sthalekar Aus 393 466 v Eng at Chennai 2007
2 S.Nitschke Aus 387*/*! 387 v NZ at Lincoln 2008
3 Nicola Browne NZ 357 383 v Eng at Lincoln 2008
4 Aimee Mason NZ 300 338 v Eng at Blackpool 2007
5 Jenny Gunn Eng 280 364 v Aus at Melbourne 2008
ICC MEDIA RELEASE