ICC Women's T20I Rankings: Linsey Smith Jumps To Second Spot After Dominant Performance Against New Zealand

England left-arm spinner Linsey Smith has surged into second place in the ICC Women's T20I Bowling Rankings, capping a strong home series against New Zealand that England won 2-1. The rise comes less than three weeks before the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026, adding interest to both bowling and all-rounders' standings.

West Indies captain Hayley Matthews now leads the ICC Women's T20I all-rounders' table again, after New Zealand skipper Amelia Kerr dropped in both batting and bowling lists. At the same time, England's bowling group holds four of the top seven places, underlining a strong collective impact in the format's latest update.

ICC Women's T20I rankings spotlight Smith, Ecclestone and England attack

Smith climbed 38 spots to reach a career-best second position after taking six wickets across three T20Is against the reigning world champions. The left-arm spinner earned the Player of the Series award, with a standout spell of three for 25 in the second match at Canterbury, which further strengthened England's bowling depth.

Sophie Ecclestone, another England left-arm spinner, has slipped to third place, now just behind Smith. Seamer Lauren Bell sits one spot below Ecclestone, having skipped the final T20I after claiming three wickets in the first two games. Stand-in captain Charlie Dean secured five wickets in the series and has consolidated seventh position among bowlers.

ICC Women's T20I rankings underline spin dominance in bowling list

Eight of the top 10 bowlers in the latest table are spinners, highlighting the role of slow bowling in T20Is. Lauren Bell and Australia's Annabel Sutherland are the only seam bowlers in that elite group, with the rest of the leading positions controlled by various spin options across different teams.

New Zealand left-arm seamer Bree Illing continued a promising start at international level, moving up 12 positions to 45th after collecting four wickets in the series. Spinner Nensi Patel also gained from the matches, climbing 34 positions to a share of 71st place, having taken three wickets against England.

ICC Women's T20I rankings reflect Devine's return and Australia batting strength

Former New Zealand captain Sophie Devine has re-entered the top 10 of the ICC Women's T20I Batting Rankings for the first time in two years. Devine made scores of 45 and 87 in the opening two games and finished as the series' leading run-scorer with 132 runs, driving New Zealand's batting effort.

Movement among batters from England and New Zealand was limited because England's top-ranked pair Natalie Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt-Hodge did not feature in the series. For New Zealand, the established duo of Amelia Kerr and Suzie Bates could not make major scores, which restricted changes near the top of the batting table.

Australia remain strong in the batting section, with Georgia Voll and Beth Mooney still occupying the top two positions. Tahlia McGrath holds sixth place, while Phoebe Litchfield sits joint-13th. Together they present a solid core as Australia prepare for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 and future bilateral contests.

ICC Women's T20I rankings boosted by Green, Bouchier and Capsey

Maddy Green's 56 in the second T20I, where Green shared a national-record fifth wicket stand of 159 with Devine, lifted New Zealand from 11 for four to a match-winning score. Across the series, Green scored 93 runs and climbed eight places to 39th position in the ICC Women's T20I batting list.

England batter Maia Bouchier improved from 40th to 34th, gaining from steady contributions across the three matches. Alice Capsey finished the series with 99 runs and produced a career-best unbeaten 74 in Derby, steering England's successful chase of 137 in the first T20I, which moved Capsey up nine spots to 45th.

Amelia Kerr's slide in both batting and bowling rankings has resulted in a change at the top of the all-rounders' chart, with Hayley Matthews regaining number one status. Matthews had previously held that position for two and a half years, from October 2023 to March 2026, before Kerr briefly moved ahead, and now returns to the summit.