Laura Wolvaardt dethrones Smriti Mandhana as No. 1 ODI batter after record-breaking World Cup campaign

South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt has climbed to the top of the ICC Women’s ODI Batting Rankings, surpassing India’s Smriti Mandhana following a record-breaking run in the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

Wolvaardt’s stellar form saw her amass 571 runs, the most ever in a single edition of the tournament. Her match-winning centuries in both the semi-final and final propelled her to a career-best rating of 814, marking a two-spot rise to the coveted No. 1 position.

Mandhana, who had maintained the top spot throughout the World Cup, now sits second with 811 points. The Indian opener was also named in the Team of the Tournament, capping off a memorable campaign despite narrowly missing out on retaining her No. 1 status.

India’s Deepti Sharma, who was named the Player of the Tournament, also made notable progress in the all-rounder rankings. With seven wickets and 82 runs across the semi-final and final, she moved up to fourth place with 392 points, edging past Australia’s Annabel Sutherland (388).

There were other significant movements among top performers. Jemimah Rodrigues entered the top ten following her match-winning century against Australia in the semi-final at Navi Mumbai, while Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield climbed 13 places to a career-high 13th (637) after her own ton in the same game.

Veteran Australian Ellyse Perry rose to joint seventh (669) after scoring 77 in the semi-final, sharing the spot with New Zealand’s Sophie Devine, who recently announced her retirement from ODIs.

The bowling charts also saw notable shifts. South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp moved up two spots to second with 712 points, following her stunning 5/20 performance against England in the semi-final — putting her within reach of dethroning England’s Sophie Ecclestone from the top.

Among other bowlers, Annabel Sutherland and Kim Garth gained one spot each to take sixth and seventh positions respectively. India’s Shree Charani, who claimed three wickets across the knockout matches, jumped seven places to 23rd (511), while Proteas all-rounder Nadine de Klerk advanced two places to 10th after taking three wickets in her final two outings.

Wolvaardt’s remarkable ascent to No. 1 crowns a dream tournament for the Proteas skipper, whose consistency and big-match temperament have redefined South Africa’s batting dominance on the world stage.