Steve Smith and David Warner are the other two Australians in the ICC rankings. Former Aussie skipper Smith is at number two with 911 points while Warner is at seventh with 755 points. Pakistan’s Babar Azam made his debut in the Top 10 following his unbeaten century against Sri Lanka at Rawalpindi. He moved up from number 13 to number 10.
Veteran New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has gained five places, and is a number 11 after scores of 80 and 22. Pakistan’s opener Abid Ali, who created history recently by becoming the first cricketer in the men’s game to hit tons on both Test and ODI debuts, is at 78th position in the rankings.
Among the bowlers, Australia’s Mitchell Starc has achieved a career-best ranking of fifth following his match figures 9 for 97 in the first Test against New Zealand at Perth. Josh Hazlewood, who has been ruled out of the Boxing Day Test with a hamstring injury has moved up from eighth to seventh position.
Neil Wagner, who claimed seven wickets at Perth, is at number three while Tim Southee’s nine-wicket match haul lifted him to number 10. Among others, left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi has moved up two places to 47, Dhananjaya de Silva from 43rd to 35th, and Lahiru Kumara from 38th to 36th.
West Indies’ Jason Holder remains the top all-rounder with 473 points followed by Ravindra Jadeja (406) and Ben Stokes (381). In the ICC World Championship Ranking, India is leading with 360 points, followed by Australia with 280, and Sri Lanka with 180.
India have been the dominant side in Tests this year, remaining unbeaten, beginning with the New Year Test at Sydney against Australia.
--Renin Wilben Albert