New Delhi, March 17 – Top New Zealand white-ball players have seen their rankings rise in the latest ICC Women's Player Rankings, following a dominant performance in recent home series against South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The White Ferns are currently hosting South Africa in a five-match T20I series, and they started strongly on Sunday with an emphatic 80-run victory in Mount Maunganui. While captain Melie Kerr led the way with a blistering 78-run innings, earning the Player of the Match award, many of her teammates also saw significant gains in the updated ICC rankings.
Hard-hitting opener Georgia Plimmer climbed nine places to 41st in the T20I batters' rankings after her impactful innings of 63. Meanwhile, Jess Kerr improved by 11 places to 23rd, achieving a new career-high rating among T20I bowlers.
Adding to the White Ferns' list of successes, former New Zealand captain Sophie Devine jumped six places to 11th in the T20I all-rounders' list, following a four-wicket haul against the Proteas. The veteran all-rounder continues to defy age, making a major impact with both bat and ball.
The updated rankings also reflected New Zealand's dominance in the recently completed three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, which the White Ferns won 3-0. Maddy Green moved up five spots to 17th, while Melie Kerr climbed two places to equal 19th. Isabella Gaze also improved her position, rising three places to 61st in the ODI batters' rankings.
On the bowling front, Rosemary Mair and Bree Illing made notable progress, advancing seven and five places to 58th and 79th, respectively, in the ODI bowlers' rankings. Zimbabwe's Nomvelo Sibanda also recorded a career-high rise of eight spots to equal 49th following impressive performances during the series, highlighting her growing influence in international cricket.
New Zealand and South Africa played out the second T20I of the five-match series on Tuesday, with the latter clinching an 18-run victory to level the series 1-1.