Yasir Shah replaces James Anderson as No. 1 Test bowler

Yasir Shah’s match-winning performance against England at Lords saw him climb up the ICC Test rankings for the bowlers. He displaced James Anderson, who could not play the first Test due to a shoulder injury.

He had figures of 6-72 and 4-69 from the two innings of the match to seal a historical win for his nation and to claim the No.1 position in world rankings.

He headed into the Test match ranked no.4. The 30-year old has 86 wickets from 13 Tests and is within touching distance of breaking a 120-year old record – the fastest to 100 Test wickets. George Lohmann, the England fast bowler, had reached the mark in 16 Tests in 1896.

James Anderson is dropped to the no.3 position who missed the match due to a shoulder injury. Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is ranked no.2 and England pacer Stuart Broad at no.4.

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It’s the third time a new No.1 Test bowler has been crowned since January. Earlier, it was Stuart Broad who topped the charts after the series against South Africa and later on it was snatched back by his teammate James Anderson after the series against Sri Lanka. England beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in the three-match Test series.Shah’s 10-141 was the best-ever performance by a Pakistan bowler

Shah’s 10/141 was the best-ever performance by a Pakistan bowler as he is the first bowler from Pakistan to claim 10 wickets at the home of cricket – ‘Lords cricket ground’.

Meanwhile, Australian skipper Steve Smith remained at no.1 position in the ICC Test ranking for batsmen. Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq rose one spot to ninth after his blistering hundred in the first innings of the match. Younis Khan is ranked 7th in the batsmen rankings.

Asad Shafiq, who has scored most runs in the first Test match rose two spots to 11th in the ICC rankings.

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