The West Indies Women have slipped from seventh to ninth in the latest ICC Women’s ODI Team Rankings following the annual update released on Wednesday, but they will be hoping to climb back up the standings with a strong showing in their upcoming series against England.
The latest shuffle in the rankings sees the Caribbean side fall behind Bangladesh and Pakistan, after losing 10 rating points in the updated calculation, which now discounts matches played between October 2021 and April 2022, including the 2022 ICC Women’s World Cup. This update has particularly hurt teams like West Indies and South Africa, who had made the knockout stages of that tournament but now see those performances dropped from the equation.
Despite the rankings dip, the West Indies will look at their series in England as a crucial opportunity to reassert their ODI credentials, especially as the countdown to major global events continues. A tidy performance on English soil could help them regain momentum and rebuild their position in the top tier of international women’s cricket.
"Going to England is a fantastic opportunity to play one of the best teams in the world for a long time and to really test our skills and put into practice what we've talked about off the pitch. The talk is cheap off the pitch; we're going to put that talk into action and go out against England and play some good cricket," West Indies Head Coach Shane Deitz said ahead of the series.
"We’ve got the T20Is first, and that's where we've played our better cricket in the past 12 to 18 months, so we're looking forward to getting the tour off to a good start and play some good attacking cricket the West Indian way. It's going to be an excellent tour for us to reestablish ourselves as a world-class team with world-class players," he added.
Meanwhile, Australia continue to dominate the women’s ODI landscape, holding a commanding 167 rating points, though their lead over second-placed England has narrowed slightly from 44 to 40 points. This change comes after the updated system shifted to weigh matches played between May 2022 and April 2024 at 50%, and those played thereafter at 100%, aligning with the men's ranking cycle, which was previously updated in May.
Australia’s formidable results in the full-weightage period include sweeping series wins against India (both home and away), Bangladesh, and England, as well as solid wins over South Africa, New Zealand, and West Indies.
England, sitting at 127 points, have made up some ground, thanks to a string of recent series wins — notably 3-0 and 2-1 victories over New Zealand, and 2-0 wins against Pakistan and Sri Lanka at home. They also managed tight 2-1 wins away to both Ireland and South Africa.
India remain in third, now only six points behind England, having delivered a series of dominant performances over the last two years. Their clean sweeps against Ireland, West Indies, and South Africa, and a 2-1 win over New Zealand, have solidified their top-three status.
South Africa, though still fifth, lost nine rating points in the reshuffle, reflecting a decline since their World Cup semi-final showing, while USA have been dropped from the table altogether after losing ODI status. The UAE are now eligible to enter the rankings once they complete eight official ODIs.