It’s fascinating to see how differently these rankings are assessed.
If you place batters, bowlers and all-rounders in a single list, the all-rounders would find themselves in Division three at best. Rather surprisingly ODI bowlers figure highest of all, Jess Jonassen reaching a summit of 808 points, while Mithali Raj manages only 762 points with the bat.
Alongside these giants Marizanne Kapp and Ellyse Perry have to make do with a measly 418 points to stand side by side at the head of the all-rounder lists.
Which of these players would the captain of a World XI pick first? Yes, so would I.
ODI
The batters group tight together; eight points cover the top four, which is bad news for Tammy Beaumont who drops from gold-medal position to a medalless fourth. If she’d been in the bowling stakes, she would still be winning silver.
The other two lists reveal steep drops; Shabnim Ismael in fourth bowling place ranks nearly 100 points behind the leader.
Batting: Mithali Raj 762; Lizelle Lee 758; Alyssa Healy 756; Tammy Beaumont 754
Bowling: Jess Jonassen 808; Megan Schutt 762; Marizanne Kapp 747; Shabnim Ismael 717
All-rounder: Marizanne Kapp/Ellyse Perry 418; Stafanie Taylor 394; Nat Sciver 365
T20
The same pattern shows at T20 level; the all-rounders seem to be half the worth of the specialists, but I don’t think they’ll all be going on strike for equal pointage.
Batting: Shafali Verma 759; Beth Mooney 744; Smriti Mandhana 716; Meg Lanning 709
Bowling: Sophie Ecclestone 783; Shabnim Ismael 763; Sarah Glenn 747; Megan Schutt 743
All-rounder: Nat Sciver 386; Sophie Devine 359; Kathryn Bryce 336; Stafanie Taylor 325
Kathryn Bryce’s name stands out from the rest, representing Scotland, an Associate Nation. You have to wonder when the ICC expects to see these Associate Members rise to elite level in the foreseeable future. For Scotland it’s been a long wait; their first recorded game dates back to 1783.
