New Zealand players rise rankings after Mount Maunganui win

New Zealand's best white-ball performers have been the big winners in the latest update to the ICC Women's Player Rankings.

The White Ferns are in the middle of hosting South Africa in a five-match T20I series and it was the hosts that made a flying start with a comfortable 80-run victory at Mount Maunganui on Sunday.

While it was skipper Melie Kerr that led the way with a quickfire 78 in a Player of the Match performance, it was a group of her teammates that made the biggest impact on the updated rankings.

Hard-hitting opener Georgia Plimmer rose nine spots to 41st on the rankings for T20I batters following her innings of 63, while Jess Kerr improved 11 places to 23rd to claim a new career-high rating on the list for T20I bowlers.

Ever more remarkable was the fact that former New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine shot up six places to 11th on the list for T20I all-rounders, after the evergreen veteran claimed a four-wicket haul in that victory over the Proteas.

There was also some movement on the updated ODI rankings following the completion of New Zealand's three-game home series with Zimbabwe.

The White Ferns cruised to a 3-0 series sweep, with Maddy Green (up five rungs to 17th), Melie Kerr (up two slots to equal 19th) and Isabella Gaze (up three places to 61st) all making gains on the updated rankings for ODI batters.

Kiwi teammates Rosemary Mair (up seven spots to 58th) and Bree Illing (up five rungs to 79th) made some ground on the rankings for ODI bowlers, while Zimbabwe seamer Nomvelo Sibanda (up eight places to equal 49th) claimed a new career-high rating on the same list following some impressive efforts in New Zealand.