Finance
After finishing with seven wickets in the first Test against New Zealand last week, veteran England pacer James Anderson displaced Australia captain Pat Cummins to become the No.1 ranked bowler in the latest ICC Men’s Test Rankings, released on Wednesday.
Anderson has taken the top spot in the Men’s Test Player Rankings for the sixth time in his career. He first reached the top spot in May 2016 and was last at the top in November 2018 before being surpassed by South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.
Anderson’s ascension to the top at the ripe old age of 40 years and 207 days also makes him the oldest bowler to hold the position since Australian legend Clarrie Grimmett did so back in 1936.
However, his lead at the top is razor-thin, with Ashwin in second place on 864 rating points, just two points behind the England pacer.
Meanwhile, Cummins, who has been at the top since February 2019, has dropped to third with 858 rating points, but could reclaim the top spot with some strong performances during Australia’s current Test series against India.
While the change at the top of the Test bowler rankings is the highlight of a big week of movement on the rankings, there are plenty of players moving in other categories as well.
England batters Ollie Pope (up six places to 23rd), Harry Brook (up 12 places to 31st), and Ben Duckett have all improved their rankings (up 13 places to 38th) have achieved career-best rankings, as have New Zealand’s Tom Blundell and Devon Conway. Blundell’s first innings knock of 138 has lifted him four places to 11th while Conway’s 77 has helped him move up five places to 17th.
Ravindra Jadeja of India has risen seven places to ninth following his 10-wicket haul in the second Test in Delhi, the first time he has been in the top ten since September 2019.
His spin partner Ravichandran Ashwin has risen to second place, while other India spinner Axar Patel – the series’ second highest run-scorer with 158 runs – has risen two places to fifth overall in the latest Test all-rounder rankings.
Nathan Lyon of Australia has moved up two places to 15th after finishing with seven wickets in a match that his team lost by six wickets.
After the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 matches, there are some changes in the ODI rankings as well. Scotland’s George Munsey has risen seven places to 39th among batters, while Nepal’s RK Paudel has risen from 76th to 67th. Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane has risen 12 places to 31st in the bowling rankings, while Scotland seam bowler Safyaan Sharif has risen from 51st to 45th.
In the latest Men’s T20I Rankings, Muhammad Waseem of the UAE has risen six places to seventh place, while Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga has reclaimed first place, with Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan slipping behind him.
Source:OCN
