Dubai, Jan 28 (IANS) Australia’s unbeaten start to the ongoing Ashes series against England has seen a host of their best performers make good ground in the latest ICC Women’s player rankings.
The Aussies have been in excellent form with six consecutive triumphs in white-ball fixtures against their arch-rival on home soil, and have already clinched the multi-format Ashes series ahead of the one-off Test that commences at the MCG on Thursday.
Experienced opener Beth Mooney has been one of the stars of the Australian team during the white-ball component of the series and the in-form left-hander scored a total of 213 runs from three innings across the three T20I contests that were recently completed.
It saw Mooney increase her lead at the top of the rankings for T20I batters, with teammate Tahlia McGrath now her closest rival after the stand-in Australia skipper jumped one place to second on the same list following her 75 runs across the three matches.
England captain Heather Knight finished the trio of T20I contests as her side’s leading run-scorer with 101 runs and the veteran right-hander improved three spots to equal 22nd for the T20I batters, while Australia all-rounder Grace Harris also caught the eye with a nine-rung jump to 28th overall.
It’s no surprise that Australia’s bowlers have dominated the series too, with spinner Georgia Wareham improving five places to equal eighth after she picked up a series-high six scalps with the ball across the three T20I matches.
England spinner Sophie Ecclestone remains in the No.1 spot on the latest T20I rankings for bowlers despite just four wickets across the T20I series, while West Indies star Hayley Matthews stays well out in front on the list for T20I all-rounders.
There is also some movement on the latest ODI rankings following the completion of the ICC Women’s Championship and the recent three-match series between the West Indies and Bangladesh in the Caribbean.
The West Indies clinched a narrow 2-1 series triumph over Bangladesh, with experienced trio Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher and Karishma Ramharack among the players to standout.
Dottin made strong contributions with both bat and ball and rose three places to 35th for ODI batters and nine spots to 25th for ODI all-rounders as a result, while Fletcher (up five rungs to 23rd) and Ramharack (up 10 places to 35th) made gains up the list for ODI bowlers following the series.
Nigar Sultana (up four spots to 32nd) and Sharmin Akhter Supta (up two places to 39th) were the big improves on the list for ODI batters from a Bangladesh perspective, while compatriot Nahida Akter gained one place to move to 10th on the rankings for ODI bowlers.
–IANS
ab/bc
