The Int'l Cricket Council "launched the official ICC Women's Team Rankings on Thursday in which the results of all three formats of cricket namely T20, ODI and Test will be incorporated into one rankings system," according to ANI. Australia "is ranked number one following its success in the ICC Women's World Cup 2013 in India and the ICC Women's World Twenty20 2014 in Bangladesh." It also "leads the ICC Women's Championship, which is the qualifying tournament for the ICC Women's World Cup 2017." The launch of the ICC Women's Team Rankings "is part of the ICC's long-term commitment to investing, incentivising, promoting and publicising women's cricket, which has already started to drive substantial increase in public interest and participation as well as a marked improvement in the standard of the international game" (ANI, 10/1). The England & Wales Cricket Board welcomed the new ranking system. ECB Dir of England Women’s Cricket & ICC Women’s Committee Chair Clare Connor said, "These are exciting times for our sport as women’s cricket continues to gain a greater profile and attract more participants worldwide than ever before" (ECB).
