The rankings have been introduced as part of the ICC's continued promotion of women's cricket. They will initially apply to ODI cricket only and will help identify where the leading players stand in women's international cricket to add further competition and context to their achievements.
"Women's cricket is definitely on the rise and the launch of the ODI rankings is just an indication of this. Since ICC took over the women's game in 2005 the number of countries playing women's cricket has quadrupled," said former South Africa wicket-keeper-batsman Richardson, the International Cricket Council's manager for cricket operations.
"The women's ODI rankings are exactly similar to the men's rankings. The next year is an important one for the women's game, with the ICC World Cup scheduled in Australia in March followed by the T20 Women's World Cup, which is to be held concurrently with the men's T20 World Cup," he said.
"The T20 semi-finals and final of both events are scheduled at the same venue and same day. The ICC centenary celebrations are being held in 2009 and women's cricket forms an important part of the celebrations," Richardson added.
"The performance of the men's team in Australia would inspire us to do well in Australia. I am confident we can beat Australia in Australia," said Jhulan, the ICC's Woman Cricketer of 2007, about the forthcoming ODI series against the 2005 women's World Cup winners. The ICC Woman Cricketer of 2008, Claire Taylor, also welcomed the introduction of the official global rankings for women, saying the entire lot of women cricketers were "looking forward to this day".
India sits in the second position on this prestigious list of most ICC Trophy wins by any team. India won their first-ever ICC World Cup in 1983 under the captaincy of Kapil Dev. Later again 28 years, the men in blue won the world cup for the second time under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2011. The Indian cricket team also reached the semifinals four times in 1987, 1996, 2015, and 2019. The Indian cricket team won the Champions Trophy twice. First, in 2002, both the finalist India and Sri Lanka were declared the co-champions of the 2002 Champions Trophy. And in the 2013 edition, India defeated England by 5 runs and won the Champions Trophy for the second time in Birmingham. Lastly, India won the inaugural edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007 after defeating Pakistan in Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.
Pakistan sits in the fourth position on the list of most ICC Trophy wins by any team with 3 ICC trophies. The first-ever ICC trophy won by Pakistan was during the 1992 cricket World Cup. Pakistan defeated England in the final and won by 22 runs. The next ICC trophy won by Pakistan was in the 2009 T20 World Cup where they beat Sri Lanka in the final and won the title by 8 wickets. The most recent and last ICC win of Pakistan is the 2017 Champions Trophy where they defeated India by 180 runs.
The New Zealand cricket team has won a total of 2 ICC trophies since they started competing in tournaments conducted by ICC. The Kiwis won their first-ever ICC Trophy in the 2000 Champions Trophy. Nairobi hosted the final of New Zealand vs India where New Zealand won the match by 4 wickets. The next ICC Trophy won by the Kiwis was the ICC World Test Championship. Once again, New Zealand played against India in the final of an ICC event and clinched the trophy in the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship final.
With a team of talented and world-renowned cricketers, South Africa won only one ICC trophy throughout its entire history. In the 1998 ICC Champions Trophy hosted in Bangladesh, South Africa beat West Indies in the final and won the title. Jacques Kallis was exceptional and contributed the most behind the team reaching and winning the final and was awarded the player of the tournament. He hit a century and picked up a five wickets haul as well.
A member of the Bangladesh women's cricket squad has reported a spot-fixing approach at the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, the country's board said. The player had reported the incident to the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit (ACU), Shafiul Alam Nadel, the chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board women's wing, told the Daily Star newspaper.
Canada head coach Bev Priestman said on Wednesday the dispute between the women's team and national governing body over pay equity issues and budget cuts has left her squad emotionally drained when their focus should be on World Cup preparations. The reigning Olympic champions boycotted training last Saturday while demanding immediate changes but reversed course later that day as Canada Soccer called their strike unlawful and also threatened legal action.
Indian batswomen Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana cruised into the top 10 list of the ICC Women's Twenty20 player rankings on Tuesday. Despite a 3-0 T20I series loss to New Zealand, both the batters showcased their sublime form and notched up the second and sixth position respectively.
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