Rangana Herath moves past Yasir Shah to take fifth spot in ICC Test bowlers rankings
Following a 13-wicket haul which helped seal a whitewash against the Aussies at home, veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has moved three places to fifth in the MRF Tyres ICC Test rankings for bowlers. This is the Sri Lankan’s best ranking since gaining fourth position in the aftermath of the Wellington Test during January 2015.
As a result, Pakistan’s leg-spin sensation Yasir Shah drops a spot to sixth in the list which is still headed by James Anderson. However, only 12 rating points separate the England seam bowler and the second-placed Ravichandran Ashwin who has an opportunity to reclaim his top spot if he puts in a strong showing in the final Test against West Indies at Port of Spain.
Meanwhile, South African pacer Dale Steyn who returns to action after being troubled by injuries will be eyeing the upcoming home series against New Zealand to narrow down the 17-point deficit behind Ashwin.
Among batsmen, Australian skipper Steven Smith managed to retain his number one spot after ending a meager tour with a fine century in the third Test at Colombo (SSC). He gained 2 rating points to extend his lead at the top to leave the second-placed Joe Root trailing him by 28 points.
But, Adam Voges dropped a position due to aggregating just 23 runs in the final Test against the Lankans even as compatriot David Warner gained a couple of rating points to share the ninth slot with Ross Taylor.
Also Read: Australia hands over number-one Test ranking to India
Dinesh Chandimal, Shaun Marsh and Dhananjaya de Silva all reached their highest-ever rankings at 17, 33 and 37 respectively following a century each in the first-innings. Skipper Angelo Mathews dropped a couple of spots to fifteenth after failing to overturn his indifferent form.
In the all-rounders section, Starc eclipsed Vernon Philander to take fourth spot in a list wherein Ashwin enjoys a 54-point advantage over the second-placed Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh.
Full Rankings (Courtesy ICC’s official website)
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 18 August 2016, after the Sri Lanka-Australia series)
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 906 58.55 936 v Eng at Lord's 2015
2 ( - ) Joe Root Eng 878 54.86 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
3 ( - ) K.Williamson NZ 873 51.29 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
4 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 860 51.45 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
5 ( - ) Younus Khan Pak 845 53.72 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
6 (+1) AB de Villiers SA 818 50.46 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
7 (-1) Adam Voges Aus 802* 72.75 824 v SL at Galle 2016
8 ( - ) Ajinkya Rahane Ind 785! 49.00 785 v WI at St Lucia 2016
9= ( - ) Ross Taylor NZ 772 48.66 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
(+1) David Warner Aus 772 48.63 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
15 (-2) Angelo Mathews SL 731 47.16 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
17 (+6) D. Chandimal SL 692! 44.25 692 v Aus at Colombo (SSC) 2016
28 ( - ) Dean Elgar SA 602* 36.73 626 v Eng at Johannesburg 2016
29 ( - ) B.J. Watling NZ 600 40.03 644 v Eng at Headingley 2015
30 ( - ) Tom Latham NZ 597*! 41.78 597 v Zim at Bulawayo 2016
32 ( - ) Faf du Plessis SA 583 41.02 710 v WI at Port Elizabeth 2014
33 (+13) Shaun Marsh Aus 576*! 40.22 576 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2016
37 (+30) D. de Silva SL 546*! 65.00 546 v Aus at Colombo (SSC) 2016
39 (+9) Kaushal Silva SL 525 30.89 638 v Pak at Colombo (PSS) 2015
50 (-1) JP Duminy SA 479 32.34 586 v SL at Galle 2014
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 870 28.28 884 v SL at Durham 2016
2 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 858 25.21 876 v WI at Antigua 2016
3 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 841 22.53 909 v WI at Centurion 2014
4 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 836 28.52 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
5 (+3) Rangana Herath SL 831 28.71 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
6 (-1) Yasir Shah Pak 806* 27.48 878 v Eng at Lord's 2016
7 ( - ) Mitchell Starc Aus 792! 27.36 792 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2016
8 (-2) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 781* 23.42 789 v SA at Delhi 2015
9 ( - ) Trent Boult NZ 756 28.96 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
10 (+1) Morne Morkel SA 724 29.33 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
11 (+1) V. Philander SA 717 22.08 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
13 ( - ) Neil Wagner NZ 699*! 30.43 699 v Zim at Bulawayo 2016
14 ( - ) Tim Southee NZ 692 32.18 799 v WI at Jamaica 2014
15 ( - ) Nathan Lyon Aus 677 32.80 696 v NZ at Wellington 2016
16 ( - ) Dilruwan Perera SL 645* 28.35 658 v Aus at Galle 2016
30 ( - ) Kagiso Rabada SA 469*! 24.70 469 v Eng at Centurion 2016
39 (+1) Mark Craig NZ 393* 45.56 405 v Aus at Wellington 2016
49 (+2) M. Siriwardana SL 314* 23.36 327 v Eng at Durham 2016
All-rounders (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Highest Rating
1 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 438! 438 v WI at St Lucia 2016
2 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 384 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014
3 ( - ) Moeen Ali Eng 292/*! 292 v Pak at The Oval 2016
4 (+1) Mitchell Starc Aus 279! 279 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2016
5 (-1) V. Philander SA 275*/ 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings
Rank Team Points
1. India 112
2. Pakistan 111
3. Australia 108
4. England 108
5. New Zealand 99
6. Sri Lanka 95
7. South Africa 92
8. West Indies 65
9. Bangladesh 57
10. Zimbabwe 8
(Developed by David Kendix)