The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched a global MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings as it continues to drive the growth of the game through the shortest format.
Three-time ICC Women’s World Twenty20 champions Australia lead the inaugural 46-team table, which follows the decision earlier this year to award international status to all T20 matches between Member countries. Whilst Scotland are the top ranked Associate Member in 11th and Thailand take 12th place in the first table following some good performances of late including a win over Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup earlier this year.
All women’s T20 matches between Members have international status since the Asia Cup in June and the new rankings system will help teams gauge where they stand in the shortest format of the game. Teams will have to play six T20I matches in the previous three to four years to remain on the rankings table.
The system moves away from the combined rankings in place earlier and there is now a separate MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Team Rankings table with 10 teams, in line with the men’s rankings, which are separate for each format.
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “We are committed to growing the game and T20 is the vehicle through which we’ll do this. Global rankings and international status for all T20 games between Members is a huge step forward and will contribute to our efforts to accelerate the growth of the women’s game. The new rankings will provide incentive for teams to play regularly and mark their progress globally. I wish teams all the best.”
Australia, who were top-ranked in the combined rankings system, are now ranked number one in both forms of the game and lead trans-Transman rivals New Zealand by three points in the T20I rankings table. Australia are on 280 points, New Zealand on 277 while England are just a further one point behind with 276 points.
Australia, will however, have to win their upcoming three-match T20I series from 25 to 29 October against Pakistan in Malaysia by a 3-0 margin to retain their top ranking. Pakistan will be unable to overtake sixth-ranked South Africa even if they were to pull off a shock 3-0 win.
The West Indies, who will defend their ICC Women’s World T20 title at home from 9-24 November, are ranked fourth with 259 points and India are a further 10 points behind in fifth place. The next five teams on the table – South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Ireland – complete the lineup for the West Indies event.
The list includes nine sides from Europe, 14 from Asia, 13 from Africa, four each from East Asia Pacific and the Americas, apart from Australia and the West Indies.
Both old and new teams on the rankings table have welcomed the global rankings, which coincide with the annual update and have been introduced with less than a month to go to the ICC Women’s World T20 2018 in the West Indies.
Australia captain Meg Lanning said: “Being named the top-ranked country in the ICC T20I rankings is nice recognition for the consistent style of cricket that we’ve been playing over the last year or so.
“I welcome the new teams on the table and wish them all the best on behalf of the Australian team. The women’s game has been on an upward move and I am sure this will further help spread the game worldwide.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said: “The global women’s T20I rankings is a welcome move as such an all-inclusive list will only help spread the game worldwide.
“I’m sure these rankings will encourage more countries to play the game regularly and teams will get a good idea of where they stand in the global context. Players always take interest in the ICC rankings as they are a true reflection of where teams and players stand.”
Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce said: “We are all delighted and I think it shows what a great direction the women’s game is moving in. I think it will make a huge difference to Scottish cricket as it will open up opportunities to play against high quality nations more often.
“I think having ranking points will make it more appealing for other nations to play against us, and hopefully with the increase in highly competitive matches, with something at stake every time, will improve the standard of women’s cricket across the board.”
Thailand captain Sornnarin Tippoch said: “The global rankings come as a welcome expansion and will help in the growth of the game as they will reflect where the teams stand.
“We have been doing well and even pulled off a victory over Sri Lanka in this year’s Asia Cup. The rankings will provide teams like ours further incentive to do well.
“Now cricket fans the world over will know how the game is expanding and how teams are faring in international cricket.”
Chinese Cricket Association Director Song Yingchun said: “So far, everyone only knew about the leading teams and their performances but these rankings will also get other teams in the news. With a clear structure of the competition, we could understand better about our position and direction going on forward.”
“This is also a common practice for most of the professional sport around the world. This would be a really good chance for national cricket bodies like CCA to build their cases with governments and sports bodies.
“This can lead to better promotion and enhanced support from various stakeholders.”
Meanwhile, former New Zealand captain Suzie Bates, Australia fast bowler Megan Schutt and West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor top the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings, which include new players from Southern African and South American teams.
MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings (as of 12 October)
Rank Team Points
| 1 | Australia | 280 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 277 |
| 3 | England | 276 |
| 4 | West Indies | 259 |
| 5 | India | 249 |
| 6 | South Africa | 243 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 227 |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 207 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 193 |
| 10 | Ireland | 188 |
| 11 | Scotland | 150 |
| 12 | Thailand | 146 |
| 13 | Zimbabwe | 145 |
| 14 | UAE | 130 |
| 15 | Uganda | 127 |
| 16 | Kenya | 121 |
| 17 | PNG | 120 |
| 18 | Nepal | 117 |
| 19 | Samoa | 106 |
| 20 | Tanzania | 89 |
| 21 | Hong Kong | 81 |
| 22 | Indonesia | 80 |
| 23 | Netherlands | 76 |
| 24 | Qatar | 74 |
| 25 | China | 73 |
| 26 | Namibia | 63 |
| 27 | Japan | 57 |
| 28 | Botswana | 49 |
| 29 | Argentina | 48 |
| 30 | Sierra Leone | 44 |
| 31 | Malaysia | 43 |
| 32 | Germany | 43 |
| 33 | Oman | 36 |
| 34 | Brazil | 33 |
| 35 | Vanuatu | 29 |
| 36 | France | 25 |
| 37 | Mozambique | 21 |
| 38 | Denmark | 20 |
| 39 | Zambia | 11 |
| 40 | Malawi | 10 |
| 41 | Belgium | 9 |
| 42 | Chile | 7 |
| 43 | Peru | 0 |
| 44 | Lesotho | 0 |
| 45 | Swaziland | 0 |
| 46 | Singapore | 0 |
(Developed by David Kendix)
MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Team Rankings (as of 12 October)
Rank Team Points
| 1 | Australia | 140 |
| 2 | England | 123 |
| 3 | India | 119 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 116 |
| 5 | South Africa | 98 |
| 6 | West Indies | 92 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 73 |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 58 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 49 |
| 10 | Ireland | 21 |
(Developed by David Kendix)
MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings (as of 12 October):
BATTING (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge S/R Highest Rating
1 (+1) Suzie Bates NZ 682 30.27 112 687 v Aus at Brisbane – AB 2018
2 (-1) Stafanie Taylor Win 671 36.97 106 772 v NZ at St Lucia 2010
3 ( – ) Meg Lanning Aus 652 35.16 119 722 v Win at Melbourne 2014
4 (+1) Deandra Dottin Win 616 25.47 128 652 v Eng at Bridgetown 2013
5 (-1) Beth Mooney Aus 610 36.71 123 674 v Ind at Mumbai 2018
6 ( – ) H. Kaur Ind 600! 27.91 101 600 v SL at Katunayake 2018
7 ( – ) Mithali Raj Ind 580 36.88 100 763 v Win at Ahmedabad 2011
8 (+2) Elyse Villani Aus 557 29.40 118 597 v Ire at Dublin 2015
9 (-1) Sophie Devine NZ 556 27.14 124 569 v Aus at Sydney 2018
10 ( – ) Natalie Sciver Eng 553! 24.05 110 553 v NZ at Chelmsford 2018
11 (+2) Sarah Taylor Eng 534 29.00 111 723 v Aus at Chelmsford 2013
12 (+3) Hayley Matthews Win 529! 20.03 107 529 v SA at Trinidad 2018
13 (-4) D. van Niekerk SA 526 28.94 94 558 v Eng at Taunton 2018
14 ( – ) J. Rodriques Ind 522*! 37.33 137 522 v SL at Katunayake 2018
15 (+2) Lizelle Lee SA 520! 24.06 103 520 v Win at Trinidad 2018
16 (-4) Bismah Maroof Pak 518 25.54 88 582 v Ban at Karachi 2015
17 (-1) Smriti Mandhana Ind 512 21.17 112 563 v Eng at Mumbai 2018
18 ( – ) Mignon du Preez SA 507 22.22 98 556 v Eng at Johannesburg 2016
19 ( – ) Clare Shillington Ire 503 18.39 99 613 v Pak at Dublin 2013
20= (+5) Javeria Khan Pak 493! 20.66 88 493 v Ban at Cox’s Bazar 2018
(+8) Alyssa Healy Aus 493 18.94 116 516 v Ire at Dublin 2015
(+1) Danielle Wyatt Eng 493 18.40 127 494 v SA at Taunton 2018
BOWLING (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Eco Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Megan Schutt Aus 684 17.47 6.15 687 v NZ at Brisbane – AB 2018
2 ( – ) Poonam Yadav Ind 656 13.34 5.46 657 v SL at Katunayake 2018
3 (+2) Anam Amin Pak 646 17.87 4.60 656 v Ban at Delhi 2016
4 ( – ) Hayley Matthews Win 621 16.79 5.83 648 v SA at Trinidad 2018
5 (+9) Ellyse Perry Aus 615 19.87 5.90 688 v NZ at Nelson 2010
6 (+1) Danielle Hazell Eng 604 20.07 5.50 688 v NZ at Chelmsford 2011
7 (+3) R. Ahmed Ban 602! 19.18 5.32 602 v Pak at Cox’s Bazar 2018
8 (+1) Nida Dar Pak 594 15.80 4.93 636 v SA at Doha 2014
9 (-6) Nahida Akter Ban 593 16.55 5.21 633 v Ire at Utrecht 2018
10 (-4) Leigh Kasperek NZ 585 12.47 6.01 653 v Ire at Dublin 2018
11 ( – ) A. Mohammed Win 579 16.40 5.50 686 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2011
12 ( – ) Anya Shrubsole Eng 576 13.81 5.59 690 v Win at Dharamsala 2016
13 (+37) Afy Fletcher Win 569*! 19.78 5.76 569 v SA at Trinidad 2018
14 (+1) Anuja Patil Ind 561 22.71 5.95 582 v SA at Potchefstroom 2018
15 (+1) Ciara Metcalfe Ire 558 19.18 5.62 560 v PNG at Amstelveen 2018
16 (-8) Jess Jonassen Aus 556 24.41 5.49 611 v Eng at Canberra 2017
17= (+1) Salma Khatun Ban 548 18.97 4.91 655 v Ire at Sylhet 2014
( – ) S. Ecclestone Eng 548*! 19.63 7.05 548 v NZ at Chelmsford 2018
19 (+19) Shamilia Connell Win 544! 30.66 6.14 544 v SA at Trinidad 2018
20 (+1) Sana Mir Pak 541 21.67 5.20 651 v Ban at Dublin 2012
ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Highest Rating
1 (+2) Stafanie Taylor Win 342 431 v SL at Bridgetown 2012
2 (-1) Hayley Matthews Win 328 330 v NZ at Bay Oval 2018
3 (+2) Ellyse Perry Aus 289 322 v NZ at Nagpur 2016
4 (-2) Deandra Dottin Win 279 298 v NZ at New Plymouth 2018
5 (+2) Sophie Devine NZ 260 307 v Eng at Hove 2010
