Dubai, Apr 2 (UNI) England's good form during their ongoing tour of New Zealand has been rewarded with a host of their players making big gains on the latest ICC Women's T20I Player Rankings just months out from the start of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup.
Heather Knight’s side cruised to a 4-1 series triumph over the Kiwis in the five-match T20I series and have already made a good start to the ODI component of the tour with an impressive victory in the opening 50-over contest in Wellington.
Off-spinner Charlie Dean was the leading wicket-taker during the T20I series with seven scalps and the right-armer rose nine places to second behind teammate Sophie Ecclestone on the updated rankings for T20I bowlers.
Pacer Lauren Bell (up six places to 12th) and star all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt (up eight spots to 47th) also made giant strides, while Amelia Kerr was the big mover from a New Zealand perspective as she rose two rungs to 13th.
England opener Maia Bouchier was the leading run-scorer during the T20I series with a total of 223 runs at an average of 55.75 and she received a boost of 28 places to equal 25th on the latest rankings for T20I batters, an ICC report said.
Knight remains in 23rd place following her 185 runs for the series, while youngster Alice Capsey rises eight places to 30th behind No.1 ranked batter Beth Mooney from Australia.
Mooney hit an unbeaten half-century during Australia's emphatic 10-wicket triumph over Bangladesh in the first match of their T20I series to further increase her advantage at the top of the rankings, while fellow opener Alyssa Healy jumps three places to seventh overall after her own unbeaten half-century in Mirpur.
Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana played a lone hand in that contest with an excellent 63 not out and was duly rewarded with a three-spot rise to 16th overall on the updated list for T20I batters.
There was also some movement on the latest ODI rankings, with Australia veteran Ellyse Perry gaining one place on the list for batters to move to fifth following her 64 runs for the series against Bangladesh.
Teammate Kim Garth moves up five spots to 22nd on the updated list for ODI bowlers, while Bangladesh are boosted by Rabeya Khan gaining four places to move to 47th following her two wickets from the three matches.
There's also a new career-high rating for England's Amy Jones following her Player of the Match heroics in the opening match of their series with New Zealand, with the veteran moving up 10 places to 17th on the list for ODI batters following her unbeaten 92 from just 83 deliveries.
Kiwi veteran Suzie Bates improves five spots to 11th on the same list following her half-century from the same match, while England's Kate Cross (up two spots to fourth) an New Zealand's Jess Kerr
(up two places to 16th) are also rewarded after good performance in Wellington.
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