The annual rankings update was released by the ICC for women’s cricket in the limited-overs format and has seen the girls in blue grab third position in the T20I rankings. Earlier in the year, India reached the finals of the T20 World Cup and has leap-frogged New Zealand, who occupied the 3rd position after last year’s update. Australia has maintained its position as the No.1 team in both the ODI and T20I formats.
This year’s rankings update gave a 50% weightage for the team’s performances in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 season, and 100% weightage to the recent 2019-20 season. Australia has had a stellar season yet again, lifting the T20 World Cup title against India in front of a record-breaking crowd at the MCG. In the same period, the Aussies have lost only one out of the 21 ODI’s they’ve played and emerged victorious in both editions of the ICC Women’s Championship, in that period.
Australia now enjoys a massive 39-points lead over India, who are in second place of the ICC ODI Rankings. Australia made a gain of 8 points to register 160 points for the season, and the finalists of the 2017 World Cup, India and England have both lost 4 points, and currently stands at 121 and 119 points, respectively. New Zealand saw the biggest drop amongst the top international sides, losing 9 points in this year’s update, and have lost their 4th spot to South Africa. Sri Lanka has lost 8 points and their 8th place to Asian counterparts, Bangladesh, who became the first country to deny India the Asia Cup trophy.
The T20I rankings have largely remained unchanged in the top half, with India’s ascend to the third place being the only change in the Top 15. The 56-team list has seen the most significant gains made by South America’s largest nation, Brazil, who have moved up 11 places to the 27th place. Improvements were also made by Indonesia, who moved up 2 spots to 20th and the United States of America finishing on 31st.
ICC Women’s ODI Rankings (Brief)
1. Australia – 160
2. India – 121
3. England – 119
4. South Africa – 107
5. New Zealand – 94
ICC Women’s T20I Rankings (Brief)
1. Australia – 291
2. England – 280
3. India – 270
4. New Zealand – 269
5. South Africa – 249
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