Athapaththu is new number one

Chamari Athapaththu, who scored an unbeaten 195 in just 139 balls to take Sri Lanka to a remarkable win over South Africa in their final ODI in Potchefstroom last week, has risen to the No. 1 spot in the ICC’s batting rankings for women’s ODIs.

Athapaththu’s knock broke a number of records in women’s cricket, including the highest individual score in a successful ODI chase. It was also the second-highest individual score in a successful ODI chase across women’s and men’s cricket, behind Glenn Maxwell’s 201 not out against Afghanistan at the 2023 World Cup.

Chasing South Africa’s 301 for 5, itself the result of Laura Wolvaardt’s outstanding 147-ball 184 not out – which took her series tally to 335 runs – Sri Lanka got home in just 44.3 overs to square the series. The second-best individual score for Sri Lanka in the chase was Nilakshika Silva’s 50 not out in 71 balls.

Following that effort, Athapaththu achieved her highest-ever rating of 773 on the ICC table, and moved past Nat Sciver-Brunt, who has 764 points. Wolvaardt, who had entered the top five in the last update of the rankings, moved up two more spots, past Beth Mooney and Smriti Mandhana, to third place.

Hayley Matthews, meanwhile, jumped seven spots to reach No. 11 on the same table after scoring 140 not out and 44 in West Indies’ wins over Pakistan in the first two ODIs of their three-match series.

Among bowlers, Sadia Iqbal, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, moved up six places to enter the top 20 after returns of 2 for 38 and 1 for 36 in the two games against West Indies.