Pakistan batting’s mainstay Younus Khan has climbed to fifth in the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after his double-century set-up an innings and 184-run victory for Pakistan in the first Test against Bangladesh.
The 34-year-old, whose triple-century against Sri Lanka at Karachi in February 2009 had put him in number-one position, has moved up 11 places to claim fifth position behind Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, South Africa’s Jacques Kallis and England duo, Alastair Cook and Ian Bell. Mohammad Hafeez and Asad Shafiq, who also scored centuries in the Chittagong Test, have also made upward movements. Hafeez has gained 12 places and is now in 47th position, while Asad has moved up 20 places to claim 63rd spot.
Spinners Abdur Rehman and Elias Sunny improved their rankings after good performances in the Chittagong Test. Abdur Rehman, who had figures of 3-9 and 4-88, has jumped 13 places to 22nd position while Sunny, who took 3-123 in Pakistan’s only innings, has jumped 14 places to 53rd spot.
New Zealand’s fast bowler Doug Bracewell’s stellar performance in the Blackcaps’ sensational seven-run victory in the Hobart Test has lifted him 50 places to 39th position. The 21-year-old Bracewell had figures of 3-20 and 6-40 which turned out to be the cornerstone of New Zealand’s first Test victory in Australia in 26 years.
Bracewell is now New Zealand’s third highest-ranked bowler after Daniel Vettori (seventh) and Chris Martin (up by one place to 16th).
The other notable bowlers from the Hobart Test to improve their rankings are Australia’s new ball pair of James Pattinson and Peter Siddle.
Siddle, who won the ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year award at the LG ICC Awards in Johannesburg in 2009, has gained three places and is now in 13thposition while Pattinson, a 21-year-old from Melbourne, has jumped 31 places to 41st position following his match figures 34.5-10-105-8.
The bowlers’ list is headed by South Africa’s Dale Steyn with England’s James Anderson second and Morne Morkel of South Africa third. Australian opener David Warner is the biggest mover in the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen as his unbeaten century in Hobart lifted him 131 places to 70th position. Warner, adjudged man of the match, carried his bat while scoring 123 runs that came off 170 balls and included14 fours.
The other batsmen to head in the right direction from the Hobart Test are all New Zealanders and include captain Ross Taylor, Dean Brownlie and Kane Williamson.
Taylor, who was New Zealand’s top scorer in the second innings with 56, has gained two places and is now ranked 21st while Brownlie has moved up 12 places to 55th position after scores of 56 and 21. Williamson contributions of 19 and 34 have helped him move up six places to 68th spot. Meanwhile, South Africa and Sri Lanka go head to head in the three-Test series at Centurion from Thursday with both the sides eyeing upward movements.
South Africa currently sits in third position on 116 ratings points, one behind India, while Sri Lanka is in fifth spot, 17 ratings points behind. If South Africa wins the series by 2-0 or better, it could leapfrog India into second position, while Sri Lanka’s victory by 1-0 or better might put it ahead of Australia in fourth position. The teams ranking on the Championship table will largely depend on how the Australia-India series pans out. To find out exactly how South Africa-Sri Lanka series will affect the Championship table, please click here.
