South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt Rises to Career-High Second Place in T20 Rankings

Laura Wolvaardt, South Africa’s women’s cricket team captain, has reached a career-high second place in the ICC Women’s T20I rankings after an outstanding performance against India. Her impressive century and contributions helped South Africa secure a 4-1 series victory.

Wolvaardt jumped two spots to third overall in the T20I batter rankings, behind Georgia Voll. She scored 330 runs in the series, earning the Player of the Series award. Despite struggling earlier in the year, her recent form will be crucial for South Africa’s upcoming T20 World Cup campaign.

Wolvaardt expressed her happiness with her current form, noting that she couldn’t pinpoint why her performance had improved after a challenging period during the tour to New Zealand.

Other players also saw improvements in the rankings. Richa Ghosh and Sune Luus both climbed positions for their strong performances. In the bowlers’ rankings, Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal remains at the top, while India’s Deepti Sharma and South Africa’s Nonkululeko Mlaba share fourth place.

India’s Shree Charani achieved a new career-high ranking, moving up 12 places to 11th after taking two wickets in the final match against South Africa.

In ODI rankings, Bangladesh’s Nigar Sultana and Sobhana Mostary made gains as batters, while Nahida Akter and Marufa Akter improved significantly as bowlers. Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu moved up to ninth in ODI all-rounders and 34th in ODI bowlers.