South African women’s cricket captain, Laura Wolvaardt has reclaimed her status as No.1 ODI batter in the world in this week’s ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings. This comes when South Africa’s ICC Women’s Championship series against England is poised at 1-1 with the decider scheduled for Wednesday in Bloemfontein.
Wolvaardt made 59* in her team’s successful series opener in Kimberley, where they beat England by six wickets. She added 35 runs to her tally in the second ODI where England bounced back with their own series-levelling, six-wicket victory in Durban.
Wolvaardt’s one-slot rise to No.1 has ended Nat Sciver-Brunt’s six-month grip on the top spot. The England all-rounder has slipped to third place with 732 points, one point short of Sri Lanka captain, Chamari Athapaththu, who is in second place.
Fellow South African Chloe Tryon advanced eight slots to joint 17th place with Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner with 544 points, while Ellyse Perry gained two places to fourth (714 points) – her highest position in three and a half years – among the batters after scoring a hundred in Brisbane against India.
Her teammates Phoebe Litchfield and Tahlia McGrath have also made strides in the batters list, moving 13 places to 25th and five to 32nd respectively, while Georgia Voll entered the batters rankings in 84th place after an impressive start to her international career.
In the bowlers list, Megan Schutt rose two places to second with 715 points, while Sophie Ecclestone maintains her position at number one with 767 rating points. South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp moved to sixth place from ninth (655 points) and maintains her place at the helm of the all-rounders list. England’s Charlie Dean moves up one place to ninth with 605 points and another one up to 10th in the all-rounders list.
Australia’s Kim Garth’s economical bowling in the first two ODIs against India has earned her a trip into the top 20 bowlers for the first time. She jumped seven places to 16th with 532 points while her teammate Annabel Sutherland rocketed up 23 slots to 24th (468 points) in the bowlers list and rose five places to 12th among the all-rounders, just one spot ahead of South Africa’s Nadine de Klerk, who has gone up seven slots to 13th.
India’s Renuka Thakur has climbed five slots to 28th place and South Africa’s Annerie Dercksen flew 99 rungs to joint 69th with Ireland’s Jane Maguire.
In the T20I rankings, Ireland’s 3-0 series sweep against Bangladesh saw significant gains for their players. Player of the Series Orla Prendergast moved into the top 10 of the all-rounders list, rising six slots to joint ninth place with Scotland’s Kathryn Bryce. She also leapt 21 spots to 64th in the bowlers list.
Her teammate, Arlene Kelly went up six places to joint 27th after taking five wickets in the series while Amy Hunter climbed one slot to 27th. Laura Delany rose three places to 55th among the batters.
Bangladesh’s Sobhana Mostary rose nine spaces to 58th in the batters list, as Sharmin Akhter re-entered the T20I batters rankings in 68th place. Fariha Islam Trisna gained nine places to 85th position in the bowlers list, with Ireland’s Freya Sargent two slots behind her in 87th position after advancing 14 rungs.
Lucky Aurora
The name for the sport is believed to have originated from “criquet”, the Old French term for stick, goal, or post. It may also have come from “kricke”, a Middle Dutch term for stick or staff.
Spoiler
1900 was the one and only time that cricket was played at the Paris Olympics. The game was participated in by only two teams – one from England and one from France. According to fans, the length of a match and the limited number of countries that participate in the sport may be to blame. There is some talk that cricket may return to the Games in 2028.