New Zealand players rise while the Australians slip in Reliance Mobile ICC Women’s ODI Rankings after two matches in the Rose Bowl Series
Sri Lanka and Pakistan will join Bangladesh in a triangular series in Bangladesh star
ting from Friday. The series will not only provide the players with opportunities to make progress in the Reliance Mobile ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings but it will also give them the chance to make their final touches to their preparations for next month’s ICC Women’s World Cup to be staged in Australia from 7 to 22 March.In the latest rankings, Sri Lanka has two players in the top 20 – Dedunu Silva and captain Shashikala Sriwardena. Dedunu is in 13th place and Sriwardena is in 15th position.
On the bowling front, Pakistan’s Sajjida Shah is the only bowler from either side to be in the top 20. She sits in 15th spot, just behind Nicky Shaw of England and South Africa’s Alicia Smith.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s 2-0 lead in the five-match Rose Bowl Series has helped its players to rise in the latest rankings.
New Zealand captain Haidee Tiffen has swapped places with team-mate Sara McGlashen and now sits in 10th place while Amy Satterthwaite has jumped 17 places to 25th. Australia’s Alex Blackwell’s dip by two places has allowed her captain Karen Rolton to rise by a place and England captain Charlotte Edwards by two places.
Australia fast bowler Kirsten Pike, who is not part of the squad, and New Zealand seamer Aimee Mason have dropped out of the top 10. Pike has slipped three places to 12th while Mason has dropped two places to 11th.
Pike’s and Mason’s drop has benefitted England fast bowler Katherine Brunt who has returned to the top 10 while Nicola Browne of New Zealand has improved one place to eighth.
There is no change in the top all-rounders’ which is still headed by Australia’s Lisa Sthalekar though Rolton has dropped one place to seventh position.
With three matches still to be played in the Rose Bowl Series, there are plenty of opportunities for the players to make amends and climb up the rankings. For those who have gained after two matches, extra effort would be required to retain those places or to continue their upward movement.
Both Sri Lanka and Pakistan are in Group B of the ICC Women’s World Cup, which is the first to be staged under the auspices of the ICC since its merger with the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC) in 2005. The group also includes losing finalist in 2005 India and two-time former champion England.
Holder Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies are in Group A. The top three sides in each group will go forward to the Super Six stage where each side then plays the teams which have qualified from the other group. The top two sides from the Super Six go forward to the final.
While Sri Lanka qualified directly for the Australian event by finishing in the top six of the 2005 Women’s World Cup in South Africa, Pakistan and South Africa completed the eight-team line-up by qualifying from the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers which was held in Stellenbosch, South Africa early last year.
The Bangladesh triangular series will be Pakistan’s first outing since the Women’s Asia Cup which was held in Sri Lanka in May while its home series against the West Indies in October was cancelled due to safety and security reasons.
In sharp contrast, Sri Lanka last played ODIs in November when it hosted the West Indies and won the series 3-2.
The matches between Sri Lanka and Pakistan will have ODI status as the two sides are in the top 10 of women’s cricket. Apart from the eight teams that will be involved in the ICC Women’s World Cup, Ireland and the Netherlands also have ODI status.
Tri-series fixtures
6 Feb – Bangladesh v Pakistan, Shaheed Chandu Stadium, Bogra
7 Feb – Pakistan v Sri Lanka (ODI), Shaheed Chandu Stadium, Bogra
9 Feb – Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Shaheed Chandu Stadium, Bogra
12 Feb – Pakistan v Sri Lanka (ODI), Khulna Divisional Stadium
13 Feb – Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Khulna Division
14 Feb – Bangladesh v Pakistan, Khulna Stadium
17 Feb – Final, Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Remaining matches in the Rose Bowl Series
6 Feb – New Zealand v Australia Zealand (ODI), Seddon Park, Hamilton
8 Feb – New Zealand v Australia (ODI), Seddon Park, Hamilton
12 Feb – New Zealand v Australia (ODI), Basin Reserve, Wellington
Reliance Mobile ICC Women’s ODI Rankings (as of 4 February)
Batters
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) Claire Taylor Eng 804 39.13 820 v NZ at Blackpool 2007
2 ( - ) Lisa Sthalekar Aus 774 37.91 804 v Ind at Sydney 2008
3 ( - ) Mithali Raj Ind 722 46.50 841 v Aus at Baroda Vadodar 2004
4 ( - ) Sarah Taylor Eng 698* 40.11 705 v Ind at Taunton 2008
5= (+1) Karen Rolton Aus 654 48.87 873 v Ind at Vapi 2004
(+2) C.Edwards Eng 654 37.05 691 v SA at Pretoria 2005
7 (-2) Alex Blackwell Aus 647 33.94 692 v Ind at Canberra 2008
8 ( - ) Nicola Browne NZ 625 29.85 653 v Aus at Lincoln 2008
9 ( - ) Shelley Nitschke Aus 580* 26.80 610 v Ind at Canberra 2008
10 (+1) Haidee Tiffen NZ 578 29.90 750 v Ind at Lincoln 2006
11 (-1) Sara McGlashen NZ 545 22.67 581 v Eng at Derby 2007
12 ( - ) Aimee Mason NZ 531 22.00 624 v Eng at Blackpool 2007
13 ( - ) Dedunu Silva SL 522*! 22.00 522 v WI at Colombo (RPS) 2008
14 ( - ) Lydia Greenway Eng 483 22.55 503 v Aus at Sydney 2008
15 ( - ) S.Siriwardena SL 482*! 20.57 482 v WI at Colombo (RPS) 2008
16 ( - ) Cri-Zelda Brits SA 465* 29.24 530 v NET at Stellenbosch 2008
17 ( - ) Caroline Atkins Eng 463* 28.46 471 v Ind at Taunton 2008
18 ( - ) Jenny Gunn Eng 456 22.37 527 v Aus at Melbourne 2008
19 ( - ) Jaya Sharma Ind 443 30.75 665 v Aus at Vapi 2004
20 ( - ) Anjum Chopra Ind 439 33.89 722 v Aus at Adelaide 2006
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) Isa Guha Eng 719 18.43 740 v Ind at Taunton 2008
2 ( - ) Shelley Nitschke Aus 668* 21.84 675 v Ind at Canberra 2008
3 ( - ) Jhulan Goswami Ind 667 22.23 797 v Eng at Chennai 2007
4 ( - ) Emma Sampson Aus 660* 22.88 666 v NZ at Whangarei 2009
5 ( - ) Lisa Sthalekar Aus 633 28.11 645 v Ind at Canberra 2008
6 ( - ) Holly Colvin Eng 619* 19.90 632 v Ind at Arundel 2008
7 ( - ) Jenny Gunn Eng 592 31.22 672 v Aus at Melbourne 2008
8 (+1) Nicola Browne NZ 579 33.03 648 v Eng at Shenley 2007
9 (-1) Rumeli Dhar Ind 565* 33.52 609 v SL at Dambulla 2008
10 (+2) Katherine Brunt Eng 545* 26.33 560 v Ind at Taunton 2008
11 (-2) Aimee Mason NZ 527 33.12 586 v Aus at Darwin 2007
12 (-3) Kirsten Pike Aus 524* 23.97 567 v NZ at Lincoln 2008
13 ( - ) Nicky Shaw Eng 502* 32.93 517 v Ind at Taunton 2008
14 ( - ) Alicia Smith SA 493* 22.10 536 v Ire at Crowthorne 2008
15 ( - ) Sajida Shah Pak 491* 26.48 499 v NET at Stellenbosch 2008
16 (+1) Ashlyn Kilowan SA 483*! 20.16 483 v Eng at Shenley 2008
17 (-1) Ellyse Perry Aus 480* 24.70 491 v Ind at Canberra 2008
18 ( - ) Amita Sharma Ind 470 31.18 650 v Pak at Karachi 2005
19 ( - ) Sophie Devine NZ 463* 38.84 472 v Aus at Whangarei 2009
20 ( - ) Neetu David Ind 456 16.34 794 v NZ at Pretoria 2005
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
1 ( - ) Lisa Sthalekar Aus 490 514 v Ind at Canberra 2008
2 ( - ) Shelley Nitschke Aus 387*/* 412 v Ind at Canberra 2008
3 ( - ) Nicola Browne NZ 362 383 v Eng at Lincoln 2008
4 ( - ) Aimee Mason NZ 280 342 v Eng at Blackpool 2007
5 ( - ) Jenny Gunn Eng 270 353 v Aus at Melbourne
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