Australian and South African stars scored big in the latest ICC Rankings for Test batsmen and bowlers released by the game’s governing body on Wednesday (January 8).
Australia and South Africa recently won the Test series against India and Pakistan. Australia beat India 3-1 in the five-Test series, while South Africa whitewashed Pakistan in the two-match series. Both teams have also reached the final of the World Test Championship and will face each other in the title decider this June.
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Players from both the teams have also made huge gains in the ICC Rankings. One of those players is Australian pacer Scott Boland, who was named Man of the Match in the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Boland moved up 29 places to enter the top 10, sharing the ninth spot with Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
The right-arm pacer picked up 10 wickets in the Sydney Test, including six in the second innings, to help Australia win the Test and reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time since 2014/15. Australian captain Pat Cummins took 5 wickets in the Sydney Test to climb to the second spot in the ICC Rankings.
He is now only behind India’s star pacer Jasprit Bumrah. India sits at the top with a career best rating of 908. Bumrah was the top scorer against Australia, scoring 32 runs at an average of 13.06. South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada has moved up one place to No. 3 after taking six wickets in the second Test against Pakistan.
ICC Rankings for Test batsmen:
Indian star Rishabh Pant, who scored a 33-ball 61 in the second innings of the Sydney Test, moved up three places to 9th place in the rankings.
Ryan Rickelton from the South Africa vs Pakistan series scored a grand with a brilliant knock of 259 runs. He moved up 48 places in the rating and reached the 55th place. South African captain Temba Bavuma also scored a century in the Cape Town Test and moved up three places to No.6.
Wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne also moved up four places to 25th after scoring a century against Pakistan. Pakistan’s Babar Azam climbed five places to 12th after scoring half-centuries in both innings. Captain Shan Masood, who scored 145 runs in the second innings, moved up 12 places to 45th place.
ICC rankings for Test allrounders:
South African Marco Jansen moved up two spots to second in the ICC Rankings. Jansen scored a half-century and picked up three wickets in the second Test and is now behind only Ravindra Jadeja.
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