Stuart Broad crowned no. 1 bowler in ICC Test rankings
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England fast bowler Stuart Broad has achieved the status of the number-one ranked Test bowler in the world after producing a Man of the Match performance in the Johannesburg Test, which has also confirmed that India will replace South Africa as the top-ranked Test side when the ICC Test Championship table is updated at the end of the Centurion Test.
Broad had entered the Johannesburg Test in third position on 853 points but, after figures of two for 82 and six for 17, the 29-year-old earned 27 points to leapfrog Ravichandran Ashwin of India and South Africa’s Dale Steyn into the top position. Broad now sits on 880 points and leads the India spinner by nine points.
Broad is the first England bowler since Steve Harmison to top the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers.Harmison had reached the top in 2004 and stayed there for 120 days. Before Harmison, Ian Botham had achieved the number-one ranking in 1980.
Broad has gained four places after earning 40 points since arriving in South Africa as he has picked up 15 wickets in three Tests to date.
Broad’s team-mate Ben Stokes has also improved his rankings. Stokes took three for 53 and two for 24, and scored 58 in his only innings in Johannesburg. As such, he has gained 10 places in the bowling chart and is now in 33rd spot, having moved up two places to 36th in the batting table. He has gained three places in the all-rounders’ category to claim sixth position – just three points behind India’s Ravindra Jadeja.
The only good news for South Africa is the movement of Kagiso Rabada. The fast bowler took five for 78 in the first innings, which means he has vaulted 28 places to 74th in the latest rankings.
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, England’s Joe Root has reclaimed second position after scoring his ninth century in his 38th Test. Root’s 110 helped England to take a slender 10-run lead for which he has been rewarded with a jump of two places.
Root had last achieved second position after the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2015, before reclaiming the top spot after the second Test in Dubai. Root had first topped the batting table after the Trent Bridge Test against Australia in August 2015. Root now trails number-one ranked Steve Smith by eight points and leads third-ranked Kane Williamson of New Zealand by two points.
South Africa’s Dean Elgar and Jonny Bairstow have also made gains in the latest rankings. Both the batsmen have moved up two places each with Elgar now in 26th position and Bairstow joining Faf du Plessis in 30th spot.
Meanwhile, when the ICC Test Championship table is updated following the conclusion of the Centurion Test, to be played from 22-26 January, India will replace South Africa as the number-one ranked Test side. This has been confirmed after England romped to a seven-wicket victory in the Johannesburg Test, which has given it a 2-0 lead in the four-Test series.
The best Test ranking South Africa can now achieve is second position, which will only be possible if it wins the Centurion Test. If the Test ends in a draw, then South Africa will drop to third position behind India and Australia, while a 3-0 series loss will result in it finishing in fourth place behind India, Australia and Pakistan.
In contrast, England will finish above New Zealand in fifth place irrespective of how the Centurion Test pans out.
This situation will be of tremendous interest to Australia, which now has an excellent chance to finish as the number-one ranked Test side at the 1 April cut-off date.
In the final Test series before action shifts to the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, Australia travels to New Zealand for a two-Test series, and if it wins the series, then it will not only claim the number-one position but with it will regain the prestigious ICC Test Championship mace and also win a cash award of $1million.
ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 17 January after Johannesburg Test)
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 ( – ) Steve Smith Aus 899 57.90 936 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
2 (+2) Joe Root Eng 891 55.16 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
3 (-1) Kane Williamson NZ 889 49.93 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
4 (-1) AB de Villiers SA 863 51.10 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
5 ( – ) David Warner Aus 854 51.34 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
6 ( – ) Younus Khan Pak 826 53.94 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
7 (+1) Angelo Mathews SL 808 50.18 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
8 (-1) Hashim Amla SA 803 50.73 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
9 ( – ) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 764 48.89 842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014
10= ( – ) Ajinkya Rahane Ind 753! 44.97 753 v SA at Delhi 2015
( – ) Adam Voges Aus 753*! 85.66 753 v WI at Sydney 2016
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
15 (-3) Alastair Cook Eng 724 46.61 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
26 (+2) Dean Elgar SA 626*! 38.37 626 v Eng at Johannesburg 2016
30= (+2) Jonny Bairstow Eng 589*! 34.00 589 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
(-1) Faf du Plessis SA 589 41.02 710 v WI at Port Elizabeth 2014
36 (+2) Ben Stokes Eng 568* 34.35 594 v Aus at Lord’s 2015
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
1 (+2) Stuart Broad Eng 880! 28.54 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
2 (-1) R. Ashwin Ind 871! 25.39 871 v SA at Delhi 2015
3 (-1) Dale Steyn SA 850 22.53 909 v WI at Centurion 2014
4 ( – ) Yasir Shah Pak 846*! 24.17 846 v Eng at Sharjah 2015
5 ( – ) James Anderson Eng 810 29.13 847 v WI at Barbados 2015
6 ( – ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 789*! 23.76 789 v SA at Delhi 2015
7 ( – ) Trent Boult NZ 787 28.28 825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
8 ( – ) Josh Hazlewood Aus 741* 24.54 792 v WI at Hobart 2015
9 ( – ) Tim Southee NZ 731 31.47 799 v WI at Jamaica 2014
10 (-1) Vernon Philander SA 724 22.08 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
12 ( – ) Morne Morkel SA 705 29.48 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
19 ( – ) Steven Finn Eng 597 28.34 624 v NZ at Headingley 2013
26 ( – ) Moeen Ali Eng 517* 38.40 557 v SA at Durban 2015
33 (+10) Ben Stokes Eng 450*! 39.38 450 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
All-rounders (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Rating
1 ( – ) R. Ashwin Ind 406 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013
2 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 384 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014
3 ( – ) Stuart Broad Eng 330 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
4 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 281*/ 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
5 ( – ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 259*/*! 259 v SA at Delhi 2015
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