Pakistan and Sri Lanka aiming for ICC Women’s Championship points

Pakistan will host Sri Lanka in round two of the ICC Women’s Championship in a three-ODI series that starts in Sharjah on Friday, as both sides bid to gain some ground on early pace-setter Australia.

Host Pakistan, currently sitting seventh in the table after losing its first round clash to Australia 3-0 back in August, is likely to call upon 15th placed Javeria Khan, who is the highest ranked batter on either side in the Reliance ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings for Batters. Also expected to be seen in action is Nain Abidi (41st) and Nida Dar (60th). Sri Lanka’s highest ranked batter is Shashikala Siriwardene, who is currently in 50th place.

In the Reliance ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings for Bowlers, Pakistan bowler Sana Mir is the solitary player on either side in the top 10 and currently sits in seventh place, 26 points behind West Indies’ left arm bowler Shanel Daley. Sri Lanka’s Siriwardene, who featured in her side’s opening round 1-1 draw against South Africa in Colombo in October, currently lies in 19th position on 488 points, with Pakistan’s Qanita Jalil, a further place – and two points behind in 20th, while her team-mate Sadia Yousuf is in 21st position. Udeshika Prabodhani (46th) is the second Sri Lanka bowler inside the top 50 heading into the series.

West Indies all-rounder Stafanie Taylor is in pole position in the Reliance ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings for All-roundersand holds a commanding lead over second placed Australian Ellyse Perry.

A series victory for Sri Lanka would see it climb into the top three, above fourth placed England and third placed West Indies.

Looking ahead to the three-match ODI series, Pakistan captain Sana Mir said: “The ICC Women’s Championship is a great initiative for women’s cricket. It has given us more opportunity to express ourselves on a regular basis as cricketers. Our series with Sri Lanka is evenly placed as the venue is new to both sides and both teams have had very close games in the last couple of years. I am happy with the development of my team and the individual players and we are eager to improve our performances, both individually and collectively, and collect as many points as possible from the second round of the Championship.”

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapaththu said: “Preparations have gone well in the build up to this series and we are prepared to face an improving Pakistan side in Sharjah. This is a great opportunity for lower ranked teams to play against the top ranked teams and we know that this experience will also help our players develop their skills. It also enables us to promote women’s cricket around the world. Hopefully the ICC Women’s Championship will continue to grow and generate immense success.”

The three ODI matches will take place in Sharjah on 9, 11 and 13 January as part of the seven-round ICC Women’s Championship, which is a qualifying tournament for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.

Squads

Pakistan (from): Sana Mir (Captain), Nain Abidi, Nida Dar, Kainat Imtiaz, Asmavia Iqbal, Marina Iqbal, Qanita Jalil, Iram Javed, Javeria Khan, Nahida Khan, Sania Khan, Bismah Maroof, Sidra Nawaz (wicketkeeper), Naila Nazir, Sumaiya Siddiqui, Sadia Yousaf

Sri Lanka (from): Chamari Athapaththu (Captain), Chathurani Gunewardena, Ama Kanchana, Sugandhika Kumari, Eshani Lokusuriya, Lasanthi Madushani, Dilani Manodara, Hasini Perera, Chamari Polgampola, Udeshika Prabodhini, Inoka Ranaweera, Maduri Samuddika, H.A.S.D. Siriwardene, Prasadini Weerakkody (wicketkeeper), Sripalee Weerakkody

Forthcoming Fixtures

Pakistan v Sri Lanka
9 Jan – First ODI, Sharjah
11 Jan – Second ODI, Sharjah
13 Jan – Third ODI, Sharjah
Points table:

Note – two points for a win, no point for a loss and one point for a no-result
ICC Women’s ODI Team Rankings:

The ICC Women's Championship is being contested by the following eight teams who have been seeded according to their rankings following the ICC Women’s World Cup India 2013:

1. Australia  
   

2. West Indies  
   

3. England  
   

4. New Zealand  
   

5. Sri Lanka  
   

6. South Africa  
   

7. India  
   

8. Pakistan  
   

Following the completion of the round-robin matches, the final standings of the points table will represent each team’s final event ranking, and the top four teams will automatically qualify for the ICC WWC 2017.

Reliance ICC Women’s Player Rankings on ODIs (as on 7 January ahead of Pakistan-Sri Lanka):
Batting

Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
1 Meg Lanning Aus 727*! 45.64 727 v WI at Bowral 2014
2 C. Edwards Eng 723! 38.07 723 v Ind at Scarborough 2014
3 Sarah Taylor Eng 707 39.71 803 v Aus at Chelmsford 2009
4 Mithali Raj Ind 680 48.88 839 v Aus at Baroda Vadodar 2004
5 H. Kaur Ind 678*! 36.38 678 v SA at Bangalore 2014
6 Stafanie Taylor WI 675 43.14 765 v Ind at St Kitts (WP) 2012
7 Suzie Bates NZ 651 37.20 734 v WI at Kingston 2013
8 Deandra Dottin WI 594 26.98 650 v NZ at Kingston 2013
9 Jessica Cameron Aus 580 37.63 660 v Pak at Brisbane 2014
10 Alex Blackwell Aus 561 33.16 683 v Ind at Canberra 2008
Selected Rankings:

Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
15 Javeria Khan Pak 532 26.23 544 v SA at Doha 2014
41 Nain Abidi Pak 353 19.64 459 v Ire at Dublin 2012
50 H.A.S.D.Si'dene SL 324 19.09 497 v Pak at Canberra 2009
60 Nida Dar Pak 272* 13.47 290 v Aus at Brisbane 2014
64 Asmavia Iqbal Pak 258 12.90 277 v Ban at Dublin 2012
67 S. Weerakkody SL 251 12.29 302 v WI at Dambulla 2013
74 Qanita Jalil Pak 235 8.90 275 v Ind at Cuttack 2013
75 Sadia Yousuf Pak 233* 3.16 247 v SA at Doha 2014

Bowling
Rank Player Team Points Average Economy Highest Ranking
1 Stafanie Taylor WI 711 17.44 3.04 768 v NZ at Kingston 2013
2 Jenny Gunn Eng 693! 27.00 3.73 693 v Ind at Scarborough 2014
3 Jhulan Goswami Ind 676 21.05 3.19 796 v Eng at Chennai 2007
4 A. Mohammed WI 655 17.66 3.28 704 v Aus at Sydney 2014
5 Katherine Brunt Eng 653 21.52 3.29 796 v Ind at Mumbai 2013
6 Shanel Daley WI 616 22.09 3.33 664 v NZ at St Kitts (WP) 2014
7 Sana Mir Pak 590 23.84 3.46 598 v Aus at Brisbane 2014
8 D. van Niekerk SA 578* 15.48 3.27 583 v Ind at Bangalore 2014
9 Erin Osborne Aus 564 25.82 3.98 581 v Eng at Melbourne 2014
10 Shibnam Ismail SA 560* 18.61 3.49 595 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2014

Selected Rankings:
19 H.A.S.D.Siridene SL 488 24.04 3.69 535 v Eng at Colombo (NCC) 2010
20 Qanita Jalil Pak 486* 28.62 3.96 493 v Aus at Brisbane 2014
21 Sadia Yousuf Pak 460* 17.37 3.16 524 v Ire at Doha 2014
24 Asmavia Iqbal Pak 446! 31.97 4.13 446 v Aus at Brisbane 2014
32 Nida Dar Pak 403* 18.32 3.59 463 v Ban at Cox's Bazar 2014
46 U. Prabodhani SL 315* 44.46 3.78 326 v SA at Potchefstroom 2013
52 Bismah Maroof Pak 261*! 22.83 3.61 261 v Aus at Brisbane 2014
58 M. Samuddika SL 240*! 29.20 3.65 240 v SA at Colombo (SSC) 2014
60 S. Siddiqui Pak 239* 30.60 3.32 259 v Ban at Cox's Bazar 2014
63 I. Ranaweera SL 232*! 32.70 4.36 232 v SA at Colombo (SSC) 2014

All-rounders

Rank Player Team Points Highest Ranking
1 Stafanie Taylor WI 480 560 v NZ at Kingston 2013
2 Ellyse Perry Aus 296! 296 v WI at Bowral 2014
3 M. Kapp SA 269*/* 273 v Ind at Bangalore 2014
4 D. van Niekerk SA 258*/*! 258 v Ind at Bangalore 2014
5 J. Goswami Ind 233 245 v Aus at Ahmedabad 2012