Ecclestone, Jones reap dividends of fruitful series

Spinner Sophie Ecclestone and opener Amy Jones have attained career highs in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings after helping England blank Pakistan 3-0 in their series in Kuala Lumpur.

• Ecclestone’s rating points highest for an England bowler in women’s T20I rankings since 2016; Jones attains career-best 17th position
• Umaima, Diana also move up in latest update after series in Kuala Lumpur

Ecclestone, who grabbed six wickets including a haul of three for 21 in the first match, has gained three slots to finish in fourth position, becoming the first England bowler to tally more than 700 rating points since Anya Shrubsole in 2016. The left-arm spinner is on 727 rating points while her previous best was 703 in January this year. Her career-best ranking of third was achieved in February.

Wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones was named ‘player of the series’ for finishing with 179 runs in the series, which was more than double of what any other batter could manage. For her effort, she has been rewarded with a jump of 30 places to a career-best 17th position. Her previous best was 38th in June this year.

In what would be heartening for England’s players just two months ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia, Danielle Wyatt (up two places to a career-best 12th), Tammy Beaumont (up two places to 21st) and Heather Knight (up one place to 34th) have also made their way up in the rankings for batters. The list though continues to be led by New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, who remained at the top through the year.

Among their bowlers, Natalie Sciver has gained five places to reach 35th position while Freya Davis has gained 35 places and is now 91st in the list.

For Pakistan, batter Umaima Sohail has advanced five places to reach 59th position while seam bowler Diana Baig has gained 16 slots to reach a career-best 47th position in the list led by Australia fast bowler Megan Schutt. Her previous best was 63rd place in January this year.

England remain in second position in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings and Pakistan seventh.

MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings (top 10, as of 21 December 2019):

(Developed by David Kendix)

MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings (as of 21 December 2019, after the Pakistan-England series)

Batters (top 10)

Other selected rankings

Bowlers (top 10)

Other selected rankings

All-rounders (top five)

For more information on player rankings, please click here.