Mithali, Jhulan lose top spots in ICC ODI rankings

Dubai: India’s Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami have lost their number one positions in the ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings for batters and bowlers, respectively, after a disappointing series against the West Indies, which finished earlier this week. The West Indies women won the series, played in St Kitts, 2-1. Mithali had entered the series leading West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor by 11 rankings points. The India vice-captain managed scores of 57, 22 and six in the series, while the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year 2011 contributed 1, 75 and 23. [caption id=“attachment_239126” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Mithali Raj. AFP”]  [/caption] As such, Mithali dropped 31 ratings points while Taylor gained five ratings points, which were enough to put the 20-year-old ahead of the former India skipper. The Jamaican now leads the Rajasthan player by 25 ratings points. However, Mithali will have a chance to reclaim her number one ranking when she represents India in the three-ODI series against Australia that starts in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Jhulan has also slipped in the latest rankings, which were updated after the conclusion of the New Zealand-England series that finished in Lincoln on 5 March. England won the series 3-0. Jhulan had figures of 1 for 21, 1 for 27 and 1 for 33 against the West Indies, which were not enough to keep her on top of the table. The 28-year-old from Bengal has dropped 18 ratings points after her performance in St Kitts which has helped Australia’s Lisa Sthalekar to rise to the number one position. Sthalekar will start off against India in the three-ODI series on Sunday, leading the India fast bowler by just eight ratings points. England’s Charlotte Edwards, ICC’s Women’s Cricketer of the Year 2008, meanwhile, has continued to move in the right direction. The England captain was a good performer in her side’s 3-0 win over New Zealand when she scored 84, 137 and nine, which has helped her gain 66 ratings points and moves her two places to third in the latest rankings. The player rankings will next be updated at the conclusion of India-Australia ODI series on 16 March. PTI