Aamir Ali Janjua
Dubai (UAE):-South African speedster, Kagiso Rabada gains two slots to rise to number three in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings following a thrilling bowling display in his side’s emphatic innings victory over England at Lord’s in the first of their three-match, World Test Championship series.
The 27-year-old saw his name added to the honours board after taking his maiden five-wicket-haul (five for 52) at the prestigious venue, his 12th overall, and followed it up with two for 27 in England’s second innings, concluding the latest update with 836 rating points.
Other gains are made by Rabada’s teammates Keshav Maharaj, who rises one place to number 18, Anrich Nortje, who jumps 14 spots to 25th place, and Marco Jansen who advances seven spaces to take up the 33rd spot. The trio also made significant strides in the All-Rounders rankings, most notably Jansen who climbs 17 slots to occupy 17th position.
Jansen (48 off 79) and Maharaj (41 off 49 balls) shared a game-changing, 72-run, seventh-wicket partnership which proved crucial to their side’s winning cause. Opening batter Sarel Erwee makes the most significant advancement in the Test Batter rankings, climbing 35 places to share 64th position with England’s Jos Buttler on 476 points. Stuart Broad also rises among all-rounders after his second-innings cameo of 35 from 29 deliveries, dispatching five boundaries and a six.
In a week of many major moves up the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings, India’s Shubman Gill rockets up 93 places to occupy 38th position with 570 points after spearheading his side’s 3-0 series victory against Zimbabwe in Harare. Gill’s knocks of 33 (34 balls) and 82 (72) were overshadowed by a sensational 130 from 97 deliveries in the final match, which saw him blast 15 boundaries and a six into the stands.
On the opposing side, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza also celebrates a four-place shift up the ODI rankings where he joins South Africa’s David Miller in 25th position thanks to his sixth ODI century - a dazzling 115 from 95 balls in the third and final match in the series.
Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, continues to keep a tight grip on his number one spot in the batter rankings, increasing his rating points to 890 after his side beat the Netherlands 3-0 in Rotterdam. He is 101 rating points clear of second position; South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen.
Leading from the front, Azam returned a half-century in every match, starting with 74 from 85 in the series opener, 57 (65) and narrowly missing out on three figures in the final match when he was dismissed on 91 from 125 deliveries.
Tom Cooper of the Netherlands makes his own 108-spot surge to 75th thanks to his own three-peat of half-centuries against the tourists, returning 65, 66 and 62 runs in his respective appearances.
New Zealand skipper, Kane Williamson, returned to ODI cricket for the first time since March 2020, re-entering the batting rankings in 11th place after his side beat West Indies 2-1 in their series in Barbados. Despite defeat in the opening match, Williamson showed grit with a handy 34 from 50 balls. He unfortunately had to bow out of the rest of the series due to injury, but his side bounced back strongly, coming back to claim the series.
Williamson’s teammate, Finn Allen also makes major gains, climbing 121 places to land in joint 107th position with Namibia’s JJ Smit.
Among other headlines, Mitchell Santner rises seven slots to 18th in the bowling rankings, along with West Indies’ Akeal Hosein, who moves 14 places to 23rd position. India’s Kuldeep Yadav reaches 34th place alongside teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Jason Holder advances 29 places to 58th, while India’s Shardul Thakur rose 10 places to number 62. Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel round off the last of the most notable bowling moves, the former rising to 72nd, while the latter makes a significant, 84-slot rise to 83rd position.
Finally, Afghanistan batter, Usman Ghani, advances 15 places to 88th in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings at the conclusion of last of the five-match T20I series against Ireland, which was ultimately won 3-2 by the hosts in Belfast. Lorcan Tucker returns to the top 100 after rising four spots to 97th place.
In the bowling rankings, Joshua Little gains four slots to reach a career-best 39th spot, and among the all-rounders, Gareth Delany and Curtis Campher rise to 27th and 47th respectively from 29th and 52nd.
