ICC to release women's ODI rankings

Women's cricket takes another step towards integrating with the game at large with the ICC introducing ODI Player rankings. These will be launched in October, ahead of India's tour to Australia.

The announcement comes at the start of a busy year for women's cricket, with two World Cups - 50-over and Twenty20 - to be played in the first half of 2009. The rankings, aimed at raising the profile of the game and bring the spotlight on top players, have been put together by the same statistical experts who have put together the ODI Player rankings for men.

The ICC decided to consider one-dayers only since a majority of women's matches are played in that format. Since 1934, 131 women's Tests have been played by 10 teams, with only Australia, England, India and New Zealand featuring in more than three each. The same logic applies to Twenty20s, of which only 19 have been played since 2004.

Lisa Sthalekar, the Australian vice-captain, said the introduction of the rankings would generate a lot of interest and competition among players and provide an additional challenge for each series. "Not only will you want to help your team win the series but you will also want to improve your own individual rating as well. Hopefully the battle to be the number one in the batting and bowling ratings will generate a lot more media interest as well in women's cricket.

"Previously we have only had the Player of the Series award at major events and the Women's Player of the Year at the ICC awards (instituted in the 2006 edition) to give us any indication on who the best players in the women's game are."

Jhulan Goswami, the Indian fast bowler, looked forward to seeing who topped the rankings. "It will increase the competition amongst the players, as everyone will want to be the number one player. The ranking system for women is a fantastic thing. I will be keenly following the rankings as well, especially the top two spots."

Charlotte Edwards, the England captain, said the rankings will help bring a new level of interest to the sport. "We need to make sure that women's cricket uses the next twelve months, where we have two major international events, to raise the profile of the game to a new audience and promote some of the leading stars in international cricket."