Sadia Iqbal made headlines as the first player from Pakistan to briefly top the ICC Women’s T20I bowler rankings, surpassing England’s Sophie Ecclestone. However, her reign was short-lived, as Ecclestone reclaimed the top spot by the end of the week.
Ecclestone Ranks High!
Ecclestone became the first English player to be ranked number one for women’s T20I bowlers since February 2020. End. Iqbal first leveled with Ecclestone after an impressive performance of 3 for 17 against Sri Lanka in Pakistan’s T20 World Cup opener. Whereas Ecclestone had a modest debut in the tournament returning figures of 0 for 21. However, Iqbal’s subsequent 1 for 23 against India allowed Ecclestone to regain her title after she delivered a stellar 2 for 15 against South Africa, earning Player of the Match honors.
The two are very close-tipped in terms of rankings, with a difference of only eight points. The one leading the pack is Sophie Ecclestone, but Iqbal is just seven points behind. This suggests that the main contest remains fluid and could easily swing for either as the World Cup continues.
This is the year for Iqbal, who tops the list of players in this tournament with 28 wickets in 17 games. Interestingly, she is only the second female cricketer from Pakistan to top an ICC player table after Sana Mir was the leading ODI bowler in 2018-19.
Other Notable Movements In Rankings
Several other players have also seen some notable rankings change with the World Cup on:
Batters: Suzie Bates upped two places to seventh after making 27 against India, while Harmanpreet Kaur moved four places to 12th after making 15 against New Zealand and 29 (retired hurt) against Pakistan. Danni Wyatt-Hodge has been one of the tournament’s standout performers, hitting 41 and 43 against Bangladesh and South Africa, respectively. This performance moved her from 20th to joint 18th, as well as sharing a spot with teammate Nat Sciver-Brunt, who rose to 19th after scoring 48 not out against South Africa.
Bowlers: Megan Schutt jumped nine places to reach the top ten at No. 10 with a very good match of 3 for 12 against Sri Lanka. Among the top five, Sarah Glenn jumped three places to third behind Iqbal and Ecclestone after picking wickets in every match for England. Ash Gardner also moved three places to sixth, while Rabeya Khan also jumped three places to ninth.
But she was not alone in that regard as it was the South African woman Nonkululeko Mlaba who moved nine places higher to 13th position after some magnificent bowling for 4 for 29 against West Indies and then 1 for 22 against England.
As the tournament advances into its next phase, fans will be keenly watching to see how these rankings change and who among these cricketers turn out to be the stars of this competitive field.
