Jamaica’s Sunshine girls have joined England on the same number of points but remain the fourth ranked netball team in the world by a fraction of a point
This after World Netball released the latest world rankings following the annual update performed to ensure that the rankings reflect the most current form of the international teams.
England and Jamaica have also closed the gap on New Zealand , with the roses and Sunshine Girls now both on the same rating 187 putting them just two rating points behind the Silver Ferns.
The update sees Australia’s lead over 2nd placed New Zealand extended from 16 to 20 rating points, as the Diamonds are enjoying a very successful period, which includes winning the Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022 and the Netball World Cup 2023.
Further down the table, three pairs of teams swapped places with Uganda (6th) overtaking Malawi (7th), Northern Ireland (11th) moving above Trinidad & Tobago (12th) and Fiji (15th) edging ahead of Zambia (16th).
The biggest improvement in rating was by Papua New Guinea who moved up four places to 29th with a rating of 34.
This comes after Papa New Guinea had a very successful 2023, finishing 2nd in the Nations Cup to Singapore and 4th at the Pacific Games.
The update also sees the number of teams in the world rankings decrease by one to 46, with Canada dropping off the table, as they have not played the minimum number of matches required for a world ranking.