Australia remain on top while Thailand climb up in the annual T20I rankings update
Trans-Tasman rivals make the biggest gains overall, while the South-East Asian nation close in on the top 10 after the yearly update to the T20I rankings.
Australia and New Zealand have been the big winners on the ICC Women's T20I team rankings following the annual update made by the ICC on Friday.
The Aussies maintained their stronghold on the No.1 ranking with 299 rating points and even extended their lead over second-placed England (279) from 18 points to 20 after the update.
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While there are no positional changes among the top-eight ranks, reigning ICC Women's T20 World Cup winners New Zealand were rewarded with a two-point increase to 253 rating points and are now within seven points of third-placed India (260).
South Africa (243), West Indies (240), Sri Lanka (228) and Pakistan (220) round out the top eight teams on the rankings. Ireland move up one place and past Bangladesh into ninth following the update that provides weightings at 50 percent for matches between May 2022 and April 2024 and 100 percent for matches thereafter.
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Asian side Thailand climb two places to move to 11th overall, while Sierra Leone (34th) and Kuwait (37th) are other big improvers as they gain seven rating points and move up three spots overall apiece.
Four teams – Mexico, Czechia, Oman and Ghana – drop out of the rankings due to not having played at least eight T20Is since May 2022.
Meanwhile, UAE have taken the place of USA among the 16 teams granted ODI status for the 2025-29 cycle, which will come into effect on 12 May.
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The list of teams with ODI status now features five Associate Members, with Thailand, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and the Netherlands retaining their status, and the UAE joining them following strong performances in T20Is.
Thailand and Scotland secured their ODI status through qualification for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2025, while PNG and the Netherlands retained theirs based on their T20I rankings.
The UAE earned ODI status as the next highest-ranked Associate Member at the time of the annual ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings update. Teams with ODI status are required to play at least eight ODIs over a three-to-four-year period to achieve or maintain a ranking.