Impressive gains by Moeen Ali and Sam Robson
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has achieved his career-best ranking to date as England’s Moeen Ali and Sam Robson have made it to the top 100 in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, which were released after Sri Lanka won the second Test and the series off the penultimate ball against England at Headingley. The 100 run victory is Sri Lanka’s first ever Test series win on English soil.
Player of the match Angelo Mathews has climbed two places on the rankings table to occupy 11th position following his sturdy knock of 160 in the second innings, which helped the visitors set England a target of 350, which the host fell short of by 100 runs. This performance also makes him the third Sri Lanka player within the top 20, along with Kumar Sangakkara (2nd) and Mahela Jayawardena (14th).
The good news for England is that Moeen Ali, whose resilient unbeaten 108 in the second innings nearly saved the Test for his team, has been propelled 36 places to break into the top 100 for the first time, in 92nd position.
Close on his heels is team-mate Sam Robson, whose 127 in the first innings has been rewarded with a jump of 66 places to fetch him the 93rd spot on the rankings table.
The Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers also saw huge gains for the Sri Lanka players. Dhammika Prasad’s match figures of one for 75 and five for 50 saw him re-enter the rankings table in the 55th position, while Angelo Mathews’ four for 60 in the match saw him jump up eight places to 81st .
Rangana Herath remains the only Sri Lanka bowler within the top ten, at number eight, while Shaminda Eranga (four for 93 and one for 38) has moved up four places to occupy 23rd place.
England will be happy with the performance of Liam Plunkett, who has returned to the side after a seven-year absence. His match figures of five for 64 and four for 112 have led to his jumping 54 places to enter the top 50 at number 50. James Anderson has also moved up three spots to number 10, only eight ratings points behind Herath.
Meanwhile, there has been some movement in the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings following England’s series loss to Sri Lanka. England has slipped two places to fifth position at 100 ratings points. This has led to both India and Pakistan moving up one place each. India is in fourth place with 102 ratings points, while Pakistan now occupies the third spot with 103 ratings points.
Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Tests (as on 25 June, after Headingley Test):
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( – ) AB de Villiers SA 922 51.94 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
2 ( – ) K Sangakkara SL 896 58.63 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
3 ( – ) S.Chanderpaul WI 878 52.17 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
4 ( – ) Hashim Amla SA 873 51.35 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
5 ( – ) David Warner Aus 871! 46.54 871 v SA at Cape Town 2014
6 ( – ) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 824! 48.75 824 v SL at Sharjah 2014
7 ( – ) C Pujara Ind 819* 58.92 851 v SA at Durban 2013
8= ( – ) Michael Clarke Aus 818 51.50 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
( – ) Ross Taylor NZ 818 46.89 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
10 ( – ) Virat Kohli Ind 784! 46.51 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014
11 (+2) Angelo Mathews SL 761! 48.40 761 v Eng at Headingley 2014
12 (-1) Younus Khan Pak 759 51.38 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
13 (-1) Steven Smith Aus 737*! 40.02 737 v SA at Cape Town 2014
14 ( – ) M Jayawardene SL 696 50.18 883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
15 ( – ) Chris Rogers Aus 675* 38.14 694 v Eng at Sydney 2014
16 (+2) B McCullum NZ 663 37.23 724 v Ind at Wellington 2014
17 ( – ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 661 47.28 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
18 (-2) Ian Bell Eng 657 45.12 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
19 (+1) Kane Williamson NZ 654! 37.46 654 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2014
20 (+1) Darren Bravo WI 639 44.41 709 v Aus at Port-of-Spain 2012
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
22 (-3) Alastair Cook Eng 633 45.90 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
23 ( – ) Jonathan Trott Eng 628 46.45 856 v SL at Cardiff 2011
27 (-3) Joe Root Eng 610* 41.86 630 v SL at Lord’s 2014
32 (-1) Matt Prior Eng 583 41.00 745 v NZ at Auckland 2013
92 (+36) Moeen Ali Eng 308*! 54.00 308 v SL at Headingley 2014
93 (+66) Sam Robson Eng 305*! 42.75 305 v SL at Headingley 2014
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( – ) Dale Steyn SA 898 23.01 908 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013
2 ( – ) Ryan Harris Aus 870! 22.56 870 v SA at Cape Town 2014
3 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 865 20.11 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
4 ( – ) Mitchell Johnson Aus 844! 27.42 844 v SA at Cape Town 2014
5 ( – ) Saeed Ajmal Pak 787 27.46 855 v Zim at Harare 2013
6 ( – ) Tim Southee NZ 775 30.07 799 v WI at Kingston 2014
7 (+1) R Ashwin Ind 744 28.50 808 v WI at Mumbai 2013
8 (-1) Rangana Herath SL 739 30.51 838 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012
9 ( – ) Peter Siddle Aus 733 29.37 816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013
10 (+3) James Anderson Eng 731 30.36 813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
11 ( – ) Trent Boult NZ 729* 27.66 767 v Ind at Wellington 2014
12 ( – ) Pragyan Ojha Ind 726 30.26 773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012
13 (-3) Stuart Broad Eng 719 30.43 783 v WI at Lord’s 2012
14 ( – ) Abdur Rehman Pak 705* 27.75 739 v Eng at Dubai 2012
15 ( – ) Kemar Roach WI 659* 28.13 712 v NZ at Kingston 2012
16 ( – ) Morne Morkel SA 637 30.97 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
17 ( – ) Junaid Khan Pak 623*! 29.07 623 v SL at Sharjah 2014
18 ( – ) S Shillingford WI 619* 32.64 652 v NZ at Dunedin 2013
19 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 613 33.36 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011
20 ( – ) Nathan Lyon Aus 607 32.99 648 v Eng at Melbourne 2013
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
23= (+4) S Eranga SL 541*! 31.77 541 v Eng at Headingley 2014
50 (+54) Liam Plunkett Eng 286*! 36.67 286 v SL at Headingley 2014
55= (RE) D Prasad SL 258*! 50.82 258 v Eng at Headingley 2014
81 (+8) Angelo Mathews SL 143*! 60.66 143 v Eng at Headingley 2014
96 (+12) Moeen Ali Eng 54*! 60.33 54 v SL at Headingley 2014
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
1 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 376*/ ! 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
2 ( – ) R Ashwin Ind 373*/ 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013
3 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 364 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
4 (+1) Mitchell Johnson Aus 280 384 v Eng at Cardiff 2009
5 (-1) Stuart Broad Eng 274 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
16 (+5) Rangana Herath SL 140 190 v SA at Durban 2011
26 (+15) Angelo Mathews SL 109 /*! 109 v Eng at Headingley 2014
* indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.
! indicates career-highest rating
