South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt Tops ICC Women's ODI Batting Rankings After World Cup

South African captain Laura Wolvaardt has become the new No. 1 in the ICC Women's ODI batting rankings after a record-breaking performance in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025, where she scored 571 runs—the highest ever in a single edition—highlighted by centuries in both the semi-final and final. Despite South Africa's loss to India in the final, Wolvaardt's performance earned her a career-high rating of 814, overtaking India's Smriti Mandhana, who now holds the second spot with 811 points. Indian players Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma also made significant strides, with Rodrigues entering the top 10 after a match-winning century in the semi-final and Sharma finishing as the tournament's highest wicket-taker and Player of the Tournament. The ICC named Wolvaardt captain of the tournament's best XI, which included Mandhana, Rodrigues, and Sharma, while notably excluding Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur despite her leadership in India's maiden World Cup title win. Other notable rankings movements included South Africa's Marizanne Kapp rising to second in bowling and Australia's Ellyse Perry breaking into the top 10 batters. The tournament showcased the rise of several young talents and the dominance of key players from South Africa and India in women's cricket.