Test Ranking: James Anderson pips R Ashwin to become No.1 bowler

England pacer James Anderson reclaimed the No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers on Monday, pushing down Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to No.2. Anderson, who took four wickets against Pakistan, now has 884 points, while Ashwin is eight points behind the Englishman at 876.

The English pacer went into the third Test match against third-placed Pakistan trailing Ashwin by one point, but four wickets against Pakistan helped him get six points to go above Ashwin. On the other hand, Ashwin took six wickets against West Indies, who are ranked eighth in the Test rankings, including a five-wicket haul, but it cost him six points. Anderson was at the top of the standings in June, before Yasir Shah and Ashwin took his place in the last few weeks.

England’s Stuart Broad, South Africa’s Dale Steyn and Pakistan’s Yasir Shah took the 3rd, 4th and 5th positions respectively in the rankings, while India’s Ravindra Jadeja, who is yet to play a Test in India’s tour of West Indies, is at sixth. Mitchell Starc, who took 11 wickets against Sri Lanka in the Galle Test, moved 8 places up in the rankings and reached a career-high 7th.

In the Test batsmen’s rankings, Australia’s Steve Smith maintained the top position in the rankings along with all the other batsmen in the top-6. Ajinkya Rahane, who scored a century against Windies in the second Test, moved four places up to reach 11th, while Virat Kohli moved three places down to 13th.

In the team rankings, India could go top of the standings, if Australia suffers a defeat against Sri Lanka in the third Test and India manages to beat West Indies 2-0 or 3-0 in the series.

The player rankings will be now be updated following the Colombo Test.

Credit: sportscafe.in