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Kraigg Brathwaite surges into top 20 of ICC Test rankings for first time

Brathwaite scored handsomely against Pakistan

West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite has moved into the top 20 of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen for the first time after playing a stellar role in his team’s five-wicket win over Pakistan in the third and final Test in Sharjah that ended on Thursday.

Brathwaite, who became the first opener to remain unbeaten in both innings of a Test match with scores of 142 and 60, has gained 13 places to reach a career-best 19th rank while helping the West Indies pull one back in the series that Pakistan won 2-1.

Pakistan, which was top-ranked till India overtook it last month, has lost two points in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings despite the series win because it went in with a 44-point lead over the West Indies and the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference. But Pakistan remains in second position with 109 points, six points behind India and just one point ahead of third-placed Australia. The West Indies has gained two points to reach 69 points and remains in eighth position.

Brathwaite was not the only West Indies batsman to gain in the rankings led by Australia captain Steve Smith, as wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich has gained 27 slots to reach a career-best 58th position. He scored 47 and 60 not out and figured in an unbroken stand of 87 with Brathwaite to see the team through to a target of 153 in Sharjah.

For Pakistan, which has four batsmen in the top-20 – Younus Khan (fifth), captain Misbah-ul-Haq (10th), opener Azhar Ali (12th) and Asad Shafiq (17th), Sami Aslam moved up two positions to a career-best 60th position after scores of 74 and 17 in Sharjah.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer has moved up 24 places to a career-best 86th rank after scores of 102 not out and 43 in the first Test of a two-match series against Sri Lanka which ended in Harare on Wednesday.

Hamilton Masakadza too has gained one place to reach 42nd position after scores of 33 and 20, while for Sri Lanka, Dimuth Karunaratne has moved up 10 places to reach 41st rank and Kaushal Silva has moved up one place to 40th position. Karunaratne made 56 and 110 in Harare while Silva had scores of 94 and seven.

In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers led by India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz has gained four places to reach a career-best 24th rank. The left-arm pace bowler took seven wickets in Sharjah, including a haul of five for 88 in the first innings.

For the West Indies, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo has gained seven places to reach a career-best 29th rank after taking seven wickets in the match while captain Jason Holder’s haul of five for 30 in the second innings has helped him move up 12 positions to 47th rank.

Sri Lanka captain Rangana Herath has retained his fourth position in the rankings with six wickets in the match, while for Zimbabwe, Carl Mumba has moved up one position to 76th rank.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings (as of 4 November 2016, after the Pakistan-West Indies Test series)

RankTeamPoints
1India115
2Pakistan109
3Australia108
4England105
5South Africa96
6Sri Lanka95
7New Zealand91
8West Indies69
9Bangladesh65
10Zimbabwe8

Batsmen (top 20)

RankPlayerTeamPoints
1Steve SmithAustralia906
2Hashim AmlaSouth Africa847
3Kane WilliamsonNew Zealand841
4Joe RootEngland834
5Younis KhanPakistan832
6Ajinkya RahaneIndia825
7Adam VogesAustralia802
7AB de VilliersSouth Africa802
9David WarnerAustralia772
10Misbah-ul-HaqPakistan744
11Alastair CookEngland738
12Azhar AliPakistan733
13Cheteshwar PujaraIndia731
14Angelo MatthewsSri Lanka724
15Virat KohliIndia718
15Jonny BairstowEngland718
17Asad ShafiqPakistan691
18Dinesh ChandimalSri Lanka685
19Kraigg BrathwaiteWest Indies677
20Ross TaylorNew Zealand675

Bowlers (top 10)

RankPlayerTeamPoints
1R AshwinIndia900
2Dale SteynSouth Africa878
3James AndersonEngland853
4Rangana HerathSri Lanka832
5Stuart BroadEngland821
6Yasir ShahPakistan820
7Ravindra JadejaIndia805
8Mitchell StarcAustralia792
9Neil WagnerNew Zealand731
10Vernon PhilanderSouth Africa723

All-rounders (top five)

RankNameCountryPoints
1R AshwinIndia451
2Shakib Al HasanBangladesh405
3Moeen AliEngland318
4Ben StokesEngland312
5Ravindra JadejaIndia292

 

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