South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt has climbed to the top of the ICC Women’s ODI batting rankings after a sensational World Cup campaign in India, where she overtook India’s star opener Smriti Mandhana.
The Protea opener produced a stunning display with the bat, scoring 169 runs in the semi-final against England and following it up with another century in the final against India. Her consistent brilliance throughout the tournament saw her amass 571 runs, the highest total in the history of the Women’s World Cup.
Wolvaardt’s rating now stands at 814 points, the best of her career, and three points ahead of Mandhana. While the Indian opener also enjoyed a strong tournament, her performance dipped slightly in the knockout stage, managing 24 runs in the semi-final against Australia and 45 in the final against South Africa. Despite this, she finished as the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament.
Australia’s all-rounder Ellyse Perry also made significant gains in the rankings after scoring 77 runs in the semi-final against India, climbing to seventh place, where she shares the position with New Zealand’s former captain Sophie Devine, who announced her retirement from ODIs after the tournament.
India’s Jemimah Rodrigues made a major jump, moving up nine spots to enter the top ten following her unbeaten 127-run knock in the semi-final against Australia, placing her in tenth position. Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield, who scored 119 runs in the same match, climbed 13 places to reach 13th.
South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp was another standout performer, taking five wickets in the semi-final against England to help her team to victory. Her efforts moved her up two places to second in the bowlers’ rankings, just behind England’s Sophie Ecclestone, who retained the top spot.
Australia’s Annabel Sutherland and Kim Garth both moved up one place to sixth and seventh respectively, while Alana King slipped to third. India’s Deepti Sharma, who shone in the knockout stage with seven wickets and 82 runs, climbed one spot to fourth in the all-rounders’ rankings, overtaking Sutherland.
