Dubai, Nov 26 (IANS) England’s white-ball players Sophie Ecclestone and Nat Sciver-Brunt have emerged as big winners in the recent ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings released on Tuesday.
Heather Knight’s side bounced back quickly from their early exit at the recent ICC Women’s T20 World Cup when they won the opening match of their three-game T20I series against South Africa at East London recently and a host of their star performers played well.
England spinner Ecclestone increased her lead at the top of the T20I rankings for bowlers following her tidy spell of 1/18 against the Proteas, while teammate Charlie Dean gains four places to move to 15th following her two-wicket haul from the same match.
All-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt contributed an excellent 59 with the bat and won the Player of the March award for her efforts and the 32-year-old gained two places to rise to 14th overall on the latest rankings for T20I batters as a result.
Sciver-Brunt enjoyed a half-century partnership with Amy Jones during the successful run chase and the England keeper improved one place to 29th overall on the list for T20I batters following her handy contribution of 31.
Australia duo Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath still occupy the top two spots on the T20I batter rankings, with South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt remaining in third place after her innings of 22 at the Buffalo Park ground.
It wasn’t all bad news for South Africa from the four-wicket loss, with all-rounder Nadine de Klerk making big improvements in a couple of categories following her unbeaten 29* and two wickets against England.
De Klerk gains four spots to improve to 37th on the list for T20I bowlers and gains two places to move to 11th on the T20I all-rounder rankings that are still headed by West Indies captain Hayley Matthews.
–IANS
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