Virat Kohli and Steve Smith end 2017 with dominance in the rankings
Hasan Ali’s meteoric rise saw him move from 75th to the first position among ODI bowlers.
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Steve Smith continued his reign in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen for a second year running, finishing the calendar year 2017 with the second highest ever rating after the legendary Don Bradman.
Smith’s tally of 947 points kept him 54 points ahead of Virat Kohli at the end of a year which saw the Australia captain aggregate 1,305 runs with six centuries. His India counterpart Kohli, however, kept a steady hold on the ODI number one ranking for most of the latter part of the year even though his year-end aggregate was only four points more than second-placed AB de Villiers.
Unlike in Tests, the top position in ODI cricket was fiercely contested for, with as many as 12 changes between Kohli, de Villiers and David Warner. Kohli led for 190 days in this format while his hold at the top in T20I rankings was virtually right through. He was top-ranked for 358 days in the shortest format, only losing the spot to Aaron Finch towards the end as Kohli missed a three-match home series against Sri Lanka when he got married.
Those rising rapidly in Tests in 2017 were India opener Lokesh Rahul (49th to 12th), Windies middle-order batsman Shai Hope (107th to 34th) and South Africa left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj (59th to 16th).
Ravichandran Ashwin started the year at the top among bowlers in Tests but it was his spin-twin Ravindra Jadeja who ruled for the longest period (187 days) while England pace bowler James Anderson (115 days) finished the year on top. Ashwin and Jadeja were also briefly jointly-top ranked.
In ODI bowling, New Zealand pace bowler Trent Boult started the year on top and Pakistan’s Hasan Ali finished in that position but it were Imran Tahir and Josh Hazlewood who led for most of the time. In T20Is, Tahir, India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Imad Wasim, topped at different points in time.
Hasan rose meteorically in ODIs from 75th place to first position during the year. Bumrah (48th to third) and Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan (38th to eighth) also rose swiftly on the table.
Among all-rounders, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan was the runaway leader across formats with Ashwin-Jadeja in Tests, Mohammad Hafeez in ODIs and Glen Maxwell in T20Is snatching the baton from him at different points in time.
In the women’s rankings, Meg Lanning of Australia and Marizanne Kapp of South Africa led for most of the time in ODI batting and bowling, respectively, even though India captain Mithali Raj regained the top ODI ranking for batters by the end of the year. Windies skipper Stafanie Taylor and Australia’s Ellyse Perry prevailed in the all-rounders’ rankings in 2017.
In T20Is, Taylor topped the batters’ list through the year while also prevailing among all-rounders for the most part (240 days). Her compatriot Hayley Matthews and Perry were also at the top for significant periods of time. Anya Shrubsole was the top-ranked bowler – for 242 days- with Matthews at the highest for 71 days.
ICC Rankings at the end of 2017
Test batting Highest rating – Steve Smith (947 points)
Steve Smith 365 days
Test bowling Highest rating – Ravindra Jadeja (899)
Ravindra Jadeja 187 days
James Anderson 115 days
R Ashwin 74 days
Test all-rounder Highest rating – Shakib Al Hasan (489)
Shakib Al Hasan 284 days
R Ashwin 72 days
Ravindra Jadeja 9 days
ODI batting Highest rating – Virat Kohli (889)
Virat Kohli 190 days
AB de Villiers 127 days
David Warner 48 days
ODI bowling Highest rating – Imran Tahir (786)
Imran Tahir 142 days
Josh Hazlewood 109 days
Hasan Ali 74 days
Trent Boult 35 days
Kagiso Rabada 5 days
ODI all-rounder Highest rating – Shakib Al Hasan (386)
Shakib Al Hasan 283 days
Mohammad Hafeez 82 days
T20I batting Highest rating – Virat Kohli (831)
Virat Kohli 358 days
Aaron Finch 7 days
T20I bowling Highest rating – Imran Tahir (795)
Imran Tahir 169 days
Imad Wasim 143 days
Jasprit Bumrah 53 days
T20I all-rounder Highest rating – Glenn Maxwell (388)
Shakib Al Hasan 310 days
Glenn Maxwell 55 days
Women ODI batting Highest rating – Meg Lanning (807)
Meg Lanning 292 days
Mithali Raj 73 days
Women ODI bowling Highest rating – Marizanne Kapp (689)
Marizanne Kapp 313 days
Jhulan Goswami 46 days
Stafanie Taylor 4 days
Jess Jonassen 2 days
Women ODI all-rounder Highest rating – Stafanie Taylor (446)
Stafanie Taylor 193 days
Ellyse Perry 172 days
Women T20I batting Highest rating – Stafanie Taylor (686)
Stafanie Taylor 365 days
Women T20I bowling Highest rating – Morna Nielsen (655)
Anya Shrubsole 242 days
Hayley Matthews 71 days
Morna Nielsen 50 days
Megan Schutt 2 days
Women T20I all-rounder Highest rating – Ellyse Perry (311)
Stafanie Taylor 240 days
Hayley Matthews 70 days
Ellyse Perry 53 days
Deandra Dottin 2 days
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