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Daryl Mitchell has dethroned Rohit Sharma to become the new No. 1 batter in the ICC ODI rankings. This marked just the second time that a New Zealand batter has occupied the top spot, following Glenn Turner’s reign in 1979.A number of contemporary greats like Martin Crowe, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor have spent time in the top-five of the ODI batting rankings but have never been No. 1. Mitchell made the move up after scoring his seventh ODI century, against West Indies on Sunday. He injured himself during that innings though and was ruled out for the rest of the three-match series.Temba Bavuma also enjoyed a significant rise, breaking into the top five of the Test batting rankings for the first time. The South Africa captain scored the only half-century in extreme conditions in Kolkata and helped his team end a 15-year period without a Test win in India. Shubman Gill, currently injured, is just outside the top 10 with 737 rating points. Joe Root, preparing to play the Ashes on Friday, leads the Test batting pack followed by England team-mate Harry Brook.Marco Jansen, also a key contributor to the events at Eden Gardens, waits just outside the top 10 among the Test bowlers rankings and has broken into the top five in the allrounders rankings. Jasprit Bumrah remains at No. 1 after picking up six wickets in the match, followed by Matt Henry and Noman Ali.Pakistan’s 3-0 ODI series win over Sri Lanka resulted in upward movement for their legspinner Abrar Ahmed, who has moved up 11 spots to No. 9 on the bowlers’ list. Rashid Khan remains at the head of the pack followed by Jofra Archer and Keshav Maharaj.Jacob Duffy was the highest wicket-taker in the five T20Is that New Zealand played against West Indies in November and it reflects in his rise to No. 2 on the bowling rankings. Varun Chakravarthy is ahead of him and Rashid is just behind.Three Indians – Gill (No. 4), Virat Kohli (No. 5) and Shreyas Iyer (No. 8) – alongside Rohit (No. 2) make up the top 10 in the ODI batting rankings. Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran is at No. 3.

A trademark Beth Mooney masterclass century set up Perth Scorchers for a 23-run win over Brisbane Heat to get their WBBL season up and running.Mooney made a scintillating 105 off 73 deliveries to power the Scorchers to 172 for 3 at Allan Border Field. Heat, who dropped crucial catches in the field, were all out for 149 in 19.1 overs. Mooney finished the match as she started it with a brilliant direct hit at the non-striker’s end to run out Nicola Hancock.Mooney was at her composed best from the get-go. She was particularly severe on the leg side initially, where she flicked several deliveries to the fence with consummate ease. She brought up her half-century off 42 balls without breaking stride before upping the ante in an innings that included three sixes. A straight six off Jess Jonassen was sublime, as was a ramp to the boundary off Nadine de Klerk that went straight over wicketkeeper Georgia Redmayne’s head.She took to the first over of the power surge, flipping a six off Nicola Hancock in an over that went for 21 runs.”I probably just went through different phases. I was hitting it really nicely early and then was trying to hit it a little bit hard through the middle and then came good towards the end,” Mooney told AAP.”In those innings you have to hang in there when it is getting a bit tough. I thought Brisbane bowled really well, Lucy Hamilton in particular in the surge. It just showed if you bowled in the right areas it was tough to score. We managed a decent score and held them off at the end.”Mooney received outstanding support from opening partner Katie Mack (31) in an 89-run opening stand. She was dropped on 32 by Charli Knott when she splayed a drive towards third man.Mack was put down at slip by Annie O’Neil first ball off Lucy Hamilton and then again by Knott at short fine leg when on 19 from the bowling off Jess Jonassen. Paige Scholfield (22) came to the crease and continued the momentum.In reply, the big-hitting Grace Harris – playing her first match of the campaign for the Heat after recovering from a calf injury – made 46 off 30 balls before being bowled.Jonassen was then run out without scoring in a horrible mix-up with Knott (32), and it was 4-84. It was always going to be a bridge too far from there despite big hitting from West Indies powerhouse Chinelle Henry (39 off 23).In the end it was Mooney who owned the match at a venue she knows so well.

Bangladesh have picked batter Saif Hassan in an ODI squad for the first time, and also recalled Nurul Hasan after two years, for the upcoming three-match series against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi.Hassan had returned to the T20I squad against Netherlands in August and impressed with his performances, especially in the Asia Cup where he made 61 and 69 in the Super Four matches against Sri Lanka and India. Nurul made a match-winning 23 not out off 13 balls to rescue Bangladesh in the first T20I against Afghanistan. Both batters are consistent performers in the domestic List-A competitions.Litton Das missed out on ODI selection as he continues to recover from the side strain he sustained during the Asia Cup. It had kept him out of the ongoing T20Is against Afghanistan too. The Bangladesh selectors dropped Parvez Hossain Emon from the ODI squad that played Afghanistan in July.A couple of Bangladesh players have also had visa issues. Mohammad Naim, who was picked in the ODI squad, is still in Dhaka because he hasn’t got his UAE visa yet. Soumya Sarkar, who is in the T20I squad for the ongoing series, has also been unable to travel to Sharjah; he is not part of the ODI squad, though. ODI captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Hasan Mahmud, Tanvir Islam and Nahid Rana will travel to the UAE on Friday to join the rest of the squad.Bangladesh play Afghanistan in the second and third T20Is on October 3 and 5 in Sharjah, followed by the ODIs in Abu Dhabi on October 8, 11 and 14.

Bangladesh squad for ODIs vs Afghanistan

Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), Tanzid Hasan, Mohammad Naim, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana

Mohammad Mithun has become the new president of Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) after winning the players body’s election, held in Dhaka on Thursday. Election commissioner Iftekhar Rahman announced that Mithun got 154 votes, beating Salim Shahed who was the interim CWAB convenor since May this year. Shahed got 34 votes.”We will try to solve everything through negotiation,” Mithun said shortly after the election results were announced. “If that’s not possible, as I have come here to protect the rights of the cricketers, I have to speak for them. The BCB is our guardian. We can go to our guardian with whatever demands that we have. I hope the BCB sees those demands positively.”CWAB was established in 2004 but it hasn’t had any elections in the 21 years of existence. Naimur Rahman, the former Bangladesh captain and Awami League MP, was the CWAB president for 11 years, alongside general secretary Debabrata Paul. The pair quit their posts earlier this year, before Shahed was made the interim head of an ad-hoc committee.After many years, CWAB saw involvement from the country’s top cricketers. Before Thursday’s elections, the other positions in the executive body were filled uncontested.Former batter Shahriar Hossain is the senior vice-president while Nurul Hasan is the vice president. Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shamsur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rumana Ahmed, Khaled Mashud Pilot, Imrul Kayes, Irfan Sukkur, and Akbar Ali are new executive committee members.CWAB is an affiliate of the World Cricketers’ Association (formerly known as FICA). It came under the spotlight when Bangladesh’s top cricketers went on an indefinite strike in 2019, and one of their demands was CWAB’s overhaul at the time. CWAB bosses Naimur and Paul promised elections, but it was never held in the following five years.