Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews is back among the top 20 batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after helping his side win by 10 wickets in Harare to take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series against Zimbabwe.
The former Sri Lanka captain’s best ranking was third, achieved in August 2014, while he has also been among the top 10 among batsmen in ODIs.
Other Sri Lanka batsmen to progress in the rankings are Kusal Mendis (30th to 26th) and Dhananjaya de Silva (39th to 37th) while Suranga Lakmal (26th to 22nd) and Lahiru Kumara (32nd to 30th) have moved up the list for bowlers. For Zimbabwe, Sikandar Raza has advanced seven places and is now ranked 72nd among bowlers.
England’s Ollie Pope, Player of the Match for his unbeaten 135 in Port Elizabeth, has moved up 52 slots to 61st place while Sam Curran and Dom Sibley have advanced four slots each to reach 64th and 76th positions, respectively.
Ben Stokes has equaled his career-best second ranking among all-rounders after his knock of 120. He has moved back to the spot he had occupied in August last year while he is presently ranked 10th among batsmen and 29th among bowlers.
Off-spinner Dominic Bess’s five-wicket haul in the first innings has lifted him 49 places to 62nd, while Curran, Jack Leach and Stuart Broad have gained one slot each in the bowlers’ list.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 24 January, after the Port Elizabeth and Harare Tests)
Batsmen (top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) |
Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Virat Kohli | India | 928 | 54.97 | 937 v Eng at Southampton 2018 |
| 2 | ( – ) | Steve Smith | Aus | 911 | 62.84 | 947 v SA at Durban 2018 |
| 3 | ( – ) | M Labuschagne | Aus | 827*! | 63.43 | 827 v NZ at Sydney 2020 |
| 4 | ( – ) | K Williamson | NZ | 814 | 51.44 | 915 v Ban at Hamilton 2019 |
| 5 | ( – ) | David Warner | Aus | 793 | 48.94 | 880 v NZ at Perth 2015 |
| 6 | ( – ) | C Pujara | India | 791 | 49.48 | 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017 |
| 7 | ( – ) | Babar Azam | Pak | 767! | 42.67 | 767 v SL at Karachi 2019 |
| 8 | (+1) | Ajinkya Rahane | India | 759 | 43.74 | 825 v NZ at Indore 2016 |
| 9 | (-1) | Joe Root | Eng | 752 | 48.27 | 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015 |
| 10 | ( – ) | Ben Stokes | Eng | 745! | 36.93 | 745 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2020 |
Other selected rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 16 | (+8) | A Mathews | SL | 669 | 45.41 | 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014 |
| 26 | (+4) | Kusal Mendis | SL | 610 | 35.71 | 693 v WI at St Lucia 2018 |
| 37 | (+2) | D de Silva | SL | 562 | 35.01 | 612 v Zim at Harare 2016 |
| 61 | (+52) | Ollie Pope | Eng | 479*! | 51.85 | 479 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2020 |
| 64 | (+4) | Sam Curran | Eng | 474* | 28.16 | 566 v SL at Galle 2018 |
| 76 | (+4) | Dom Sibley | Eng | 423*! | 39.14 | 423 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2020 |
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Pat Cummins Aus 904 21.82 914 v Eng at Old Trafford 2019
2 ( – ) Neil Wagner NZ 852 26.63 859 v Aus at Melbourne 2019
3 ( – ) Jason Holder WI 830! 26.37 830 v Afg at Lucknow 2019
4 ( – ) Kagiso Rabada SA 810 22.95 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018
5 ( – ) Mitchell Starc Aus 796 26.97 806 v NZ at Perth 2019
6 ( – ) Jasprit Bumrah India 794* 19.24 835 v WI at Jamaica 2019
7 ( – ) J Anderson Eng 783 26.83 903 v India at Lord’s 2018
8= (+1) R Ashwin India 772 25.36 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
( – ) V Philander SA 772 22.29 912 v India at Johannesburg 2013
10 ( – ) M Shami India 771 27.09 790 v Ban at Indore 2019
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
13 (+1) Stuart Broad Eng 756 28.51 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
22 (+4) S Lakmal SL 612! 37.70 612 v Zim at Harare 2020
27 (+2) K Maharaj SA 554 33.19 695 v Zim at Port Elizabeth 2017
30 (+2) Lahiru Kumara SL 517*! 36.20 517 v Zim at Harare 2020
41 (+1) Sam Curran Eng 399* 30.83 409 v SA at Cape Town 2020
42 (+1) Jack Leach Eng 398* 29.02 450 v Aus at The Oval 2019
56 (+18) L Embuldeniya SL 303*! 38.79 303 v Zim at Harare 2020
62 (+49) Dominic Bess Eng 287*! 29.72 287 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2020
72 (+7) Sikandar Raza Zim 240*! 45.69 240 v SL at Harare 2020
89 (+5) Joe Root Eng 168* 48.75 196 v Aus at Lord’s 2015
All-rounders (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Jason Holder WI 473! 473 v Afg at Lucknow 2019
2 (+1) Ben Stokes Eng 411! 411 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2020
3 (-1) R Jadeja India 406 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
4 ( – ) V Philander SA 323 377 v SL at Galle 2018
5 ( – ) R Ashwin India 308 492 v Eng at Mohali 2016
*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 wicket
In the latest rankings update that also includes the Port Elizabeth Test, which England won by an innings and 53 runs to go 2-1 ahead in the four-Test series, Mathews has advanced eight places to reach 16th position after his unbeaten 200 in Harare.
