(Sportsmax)- The battle to reach the top of the ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings is closer than ever ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
With the tournament set to get underway on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, 10 countries will battle for supremacy to be crowned world champions on October 20.
However, while full focus will be on powering their respective teams to glory, some players will also have their eyes on topping the ICC batting, bowling, and all-rounder rankings come the end of the month.
Just 22 points currently separate the top five batters, with West Indies captain Hayley Matthews leading the charge to become the first non-Australian in three years to reach the summit. But, she will have to get past Australia’s Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath to do so.
Mooney currently heads the standings at 757 points, nine ahead of her compatriot and former number one McGrath. Mooney showed why she is the one to beat with an impressive 30-ball half century in Australia’s warm-up match against England last week.
Matthews is a further two points behind in third with a career-high 746, with India’s Smriti Mandhana also in contention on 743, while Laura Wolvaardt is also close to the leaders on 735.
Big performances from any of the top five could shake up the individual standings with so little to choose between each player.
There are six countries represented in the top ten, with Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu being just nine points off the 700-point barrier, while New Zealand pair Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine are ninth and tenth, respectively.
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana makes it seven countries in the top 13 batters, as she is the first female Bangladesh batter to accrue over 600 points.
Where the all-rounder ranking is concerned, Matthews is large and in charge there with a comfortable 109-point lead over Australia’s Ash Gardner thanks to her total of 524.
The top six all-rounders all hail from different nations, with India’s Deepti Sharma and New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr both just below the 400-point threshold.
Sri Lankan Chamari Athapaththu is the only other all-rounder above 300, with 330, while Pakistan’s Nida Dar rounds out a top six, demonstrative of the diverse strength with bat and ball set to be on show at the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Meanwhile, the bowling rankings are similarly hotly contested, with just 12 points between first and fourth. England’s Sophie Ecclestone leads the way with 757 points, but she is just two ahead of India’s Deepti Sharma.
The top four are all spinners, with Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal on 750 points and England’s Sarah Glenn a further five back on 745.
Indeed, 13 of the top 15 ranked bowlers are spinners, with Renuka Singh Thakur and Lauren Bell the only seamers amongst that group. Thakur is fifth with 722 points, 35 off the summit.
Bell is 11th on 676 points and is one of four England bowlers in the top 15, alongside Ecclestone, Glenn, and 13th-placed Charlie Dean.
Only Australia has more bowlers in the top 20, with five; Ash Gardner leads the way for the defending champions in ninth place, while Georgia Wareham’s form has helped her climb six places into 14th.
There are eight nations represented in the top 20. Sri Lanka’s Inoshi Fernando leads those looking to break the 700 mark this month with 691 points in seventh, while Bangladesh’s Rabeya Khan is 10th with 677.
