Jhulan Goswami uses her height to extract bounce off the wickets and bowls an excellent line and length © TigerCricket.com

Jhulan Goswami also deserves to be the number one bowler in women’s cricket. She is a very difficult bowler to face.

I have played against at her in the World Cup and the Afro-Asia Cup and I think it is her pace that is one of her biggest assets. She also uses her height to extract bounce off the wickets and bowls an excellent line and length.

There aren’t many bowlers in the women’s international game that have all those assets and who apply them on a consistent basis.

I am also delighted there are some South Africans in the top 20 of the batting and bowling rankings.

It is an honour to be named in the top 20 of the batting rankings, while I am delighted the progress of Alicia Smith and Ashlyn Kilowan has also been recognised in the bowling rankings.

Since being dropped from the national team last year, Alicia has worked extremely hard not only to regain her place but really establish herself as one of the key players for South Africa

She is a very determined character and responds well to extra responsibility, which is why we used her to open the batting against England in some of matches on tour. I would expect her to emerge as one of the game’s leading al-rounders in the future.

Ashlyn’s story is an extraordinary one, given that she didn’t even start playing the game until after she left school, but she is a great example to provide to anybody on how hard work and dedication can help you achieve results. It is a terrific achievement to be in the top twenty of the world and I know everybody in our dressing room will be delighted for.

I am also really hopeful that we will see the likes of Charlize van der Westhuizen, Sunette Loubser and Trisha Chetty all be challenging for a place in the top 20 soon.

Our thoughts are still very much focused on the build up to the World Cup. Our provincial competition began in South Africa last weekend and we continually to work as hard as we can on our games to be ready for Australia in 2009.

The incentive of an improved player ranking will certainly be an added motivation for us and all the other teams to spend those extra hours in the gym or in the nets.

	England’s bowlers bowled a great line which pressured the batsmen to play high-risk shots © Getty Images

Away from the tour of England, I am greatly excited by the news this week that the ICC are going to be launching the first-ever rankings for women’s cricket. I think this is a step in the right direction, as if it is something that has been shown to work in the men’s game, then there is no reason why it shouldn’t work in the women’s game as well.

I also believe that the rankings will help the public better identify some of the leading players in world cricket, particularly when not that many women’s international matches are broadcast on television at the moment.

While the main focus will always be on making sure your team win, it will be nice to know that there is something else to play for in every game and I am sure everybody will be keen to do as well as they can in the rankings.

However, I am sure those who are the top of the rankings will be under that extra bit of pressure to perform, as every opposition player will want to do well against them and show that they are capable of competing with the very best cricketers in the world.

I am looking forward to seeing where we are all rated in the rankings, which I believe will be unveiled in October, and I am sure there will be some jokes flying around the dressing room when they are released on where players are ranked.

Until then, it is a case of training, practice and mental preparation, and day-dreams of World Cup success. Oh – and a place near the top of the batting rankings would be nice too!

	The rankings will be particularly important in countries like Pakistan, where we don’t receive as much publicity and attention as other teams © AFP

It will be nice to think that people will follow the No. 1 batsman and bowler in the world, in the same way that supporters are fanatical about the player rankings for men. I can't wait until October when we will find out where all the players are rated.

Hopefully the rankings will provide us with an opportunity to raise the profile of the leading players and use the publicity to encourage more girls to take up the sport. It would be really nice to act as role models to girls who are interested in playing the game.

Preparations for the World Cup are going well – I can’t believe that it will only be six months to our first game against India. We have just gathered in Lahore for a batting and bowling training camp for which 28 players are in attendance.

During the camp the selectors will pick the squad for the home series against West Indies, after which I believe the squad will remain reasonably settled in our build-up to the World Cup.

I am really looking forward to having the opportunity to play cricket with the national team on a regular basis, for after the West Indies series we will be taking on Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in a tri-series.

Then there will be more training camps before taking on an Indian state side in Pakistan. After that I’ll have to give some thought to packing my bags for Australia.