Hayley Matthews back in top 10 of women’s ODI batting rankings

Dubai, Dec 31 (IANS) West Indies opener Hayley Matthews capped off 2024 in style, smashing her seventh ODI century to re-enter the top 10 of the ICC women’s batting rankings.

Matthews’ brilliant 106 off 109 balls in the second ODI against India not only guided her team to a competitive total but also elevated her to a joint-seventh position in the rankings with a rating of 652. She now shares the spot with Australia’s star left-hander Beth Mooney.

While Matthews excelled, Australia’s Alyssa Healy, who scored a half-century earlier in the series, slipped one spot to third in the rankings (720 points), overtaken by Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu (733 points), who moved into second place.

India’s Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh also saw upward movement in the rankings. Rodrigues jumped four spots to 22nd after scoring 29 and 52 in the series, while Ghosh moved up seven places to 41st, aided by her unbeaten scores of 13 and 23. Meanwhile, Chinelle Henry of the West Indies surged 21 places to 65th, courtesy of her resilient half-century in the final ODI.

India’s Deepti Sharma was the standout bowler of the series, claiming eight wickets across two matches, including a career-best 6/31 in the third ODI. This dominant performance closed the gap between Deepti and South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp in the bowling rankings. Deepti retained her fifth position but now sits just 12 points behind Kapp, with a rating of 665.

Hayley Matthews’ off-spin also earned her a two-spot jump to seventh in the bowling rankings, surpassing England’s Charlie Dean and Bangladesh’s Nahida Akter. India’s Titas Sadhu made her entry into the top 100 for the first time, marking a significant milestone in her young career.

Despite their stellar individual performances, neither Matthews nor Deepti climbed in the ICC all-rounder rankings. Matthews remains in third place, and Deepti holds firm in sixth. However, Chinelle Henry’s all-round contributions in the series pushed her up six spots to share the 27th position with Australia’s Megan Schutt.

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