England’s Joe Root has continued his impressive march on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen after breaking into the top 10 for the first time in his career.
Root scored an unbeaten 149 at The Oval, his fifth century in 22 Tests, for which he not only won the player of the match award but also got a rise of five places that has put him in ninth position.
Root had entered the series against India in 26th position on 610 ratings points. In seven innings of five Tests, the 23-year-old, who also played in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2010 in New Zealand, amassed 518 runs with two centuries and three half-centuries. He consequently finished in ninth position and on 789 ratings points, thus gaining 17 places and 179 ratings points.
Overall, Root has climbed 29 places and has earned 231 ratings points in the seven Tests England has played this summer.
Root is not the only England batsman to make an upward movement.
Captain Alastair Cook, who scored 79, has jumped four places to 21st in the latest rankings, while Gary Ballance has finished in 24thspot after rising five places following his contribution of 64.
The other notable movement in the top 10 batsmen was from Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, who has achieved a career-best third position. Mathews scored 39 and 43 not out in Colombo, and was rewarded with a rise of two places that has elevated him into third position.
Outside the top 20, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has finished the series in 28th position after his first innings contribution of 82 earned him four places on the table.
Pakistan wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed and Sri Lanka opener Upul Tharanga also impressed with the bat in Colombo. Sarfraz has rocketed 29 places to 51st spot after scores of 103 and 55, while Tharanga has vaulted 49 places to 52nd after scoring 92 and 45.
Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara holds the number-one batting position, while AB de Villiers of South Africa is in second spot.
Meanwhile, in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath has achieved a career-best ranking.
The left-arm spinner put in a fine performance and recorded figures of nine for 127 and five for 57. This performance not only gave Sri Lanka a comfortable 105 runs victory but has also helped him move up two places to third.
Other notable movers include Stuart Broad in eighth (up by one place), Junaid Khan 16th (up by one place), Moeen Ali in 32nd (up by one place) and Chris Jordan in 59th position (up by 36 places).
The bowling table is headed by South Africa’s Dale Steyn, who leads Australia’s Ryan Harris.
Jayawardena retires in 15th position
Mahela Jayawardena has signed off on his illustrious Test career in 15th position. The right-hander represented Sri Lanka in 149 Tests. At 11,814 runs, he sits in seventh place on the all-time list of most run-getters.
In his final Test, the 37-year-old fell both times to Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal after scoring four and 54. This meant a loss of one place for him on the table.
Jayawardena topped the batting chart in November 2009 following his 275 against India in Ahmedabad. This was his 109th Test, which also earned him a career-high 883 ratings points and put him in 39th position in the list of Reliance ICC Best-Ever Test Championship Rating.
Jayawardena on the Rankings table:
· He first reached the top ten in August 2000 after Sri Lanka drew the third Test and the series against South Africa in Colombo
· He spent 8 days as the top-ranked batsman in Test cricket in November 2009
· His highest points tally was 883 which he achieved at the same time
· He took over from team-mate Kumar Sangakkara but soon lost top spot to India’s Gautam Gambhir
· He ends his career in 15th place
Reliance ICC Test Team Championship
England and Sri Lanka have improved their positions on the Reliance ICC Test Team Championship after winning their series against India and Pakistan, respectively.
England defeated India by 3-1 in the series that finished at The Oval on Sunday, while Sri Lanka beat Pakistan 2-0 in Colombo on Monday.
These results mean England has vaulted two places to third, while Sri Lanka has moved up one place to fourth. In contrast, India has slipped one place to fifth while Pakistan has dropped two places to sixth.
The 3-1 series win earned England four ratings points but India conceded six ratings points, while Sri Lanka gained six ratings points and Pakistan was docked seven ratings points.
England now leads Sri Lanka by three ratings points, while the latter is ahead of India and Pakistan by five ratings points. India and Pakistan are on equal ratings points at 96, but MS Dhoni’s side is ranked ahead of Misbah-ul-Haq’s side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.
Number-one ranked South Africa is sitting on top of the table, but Australia is just one ratings points behind. Michael Clarke’s side will have one eye on the number-one spot when it arrives in the UAE in October, but to regain the coveted position, it will have to win both the Tests against Pakistan.
The table in the middle is tight with 11 ratings points separating third-ranked England from seventh-ranked New Zealand. With a lot of Test cricket to be played over the next five months, further changes to the Championship table is on the cards.
Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings table (as on 18 August, after the conclusion of England-India and Sri Lanka-Pakistan Test series)
Rank Team Rating
1 South Africa – 124
2 Australia – 123
3 England – 104
4 Sri Lanka – 101
5 India – 96
6 Pakistan – 96
7 New Zealand – 93
8 West Indies – 74
9 Zimbabwe – 39
10 Bangladesh – 21
Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings (after The Oval and Colombo Tests)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 ( – ) K. Sangakkara SL 915 58.76 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
2 ( – ) AB de Villiers SA 888 51.02 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
3 (+2) Angelo Mathews SL 873! 52.65 873 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
4 (-1) David Warner Aus 871! 46.54 871 v SA at Cape Town 2014
5 (-1) Hashim Amla SA 863 51.32 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
6 ( – ) S.Chanderpaul WI 854 51.88 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
7 ( – ) Michael Clarke Aus 818 51.50 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
8 (+1) Ross Taylor NZ 795 46.43 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
9 (+5) Joe Root Eng 789! 50.94 789 v Ind at The Oval 2014
10 (-2) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 762 46.92 824 v SL at Sharjah 2014
11 (-1) Younus Khan Pak 759 51.41 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
12 (-1) Steven Smith Aus 737*! 40.02 737 v SA at Cape Town 2014
13 ( – ) Kane Williamson NZ 728 ! 40.28 728 v WI at Bridgetown 2014
14 (+2) Faf du Plessis SA 707*! 52.58 707 v Zim at Harare 2014
15 (-1) M.Jayawardena SL 702 49.84 883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
16 (-4) C.Pujara Ind 691 49.26 851 v SA at Durban 2013
17 ( – ) Chris Rogers Aus 675* 38.14 694 v Eng at Sydney 2014
18= (+1) Brendan Taylor Zim 652*! 35.73 652 v SA at Harare 2014
( – ) Ian Bell Eng 652 45.00 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
20 ( – ) B.McCullum NZ 651 37.10 724 v Ind at Wellington 2014
Selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
21 (+4) Alastair Cook Eng 643 46.02 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
24 (+5) Gary Ballance Eng 622*! 60.75 622 v Ind at The Oval 2014
25 (+1) Asad Shafiq Pak 621 36.85 680 v SA at Cape Town 2013
26 (-5) Virat Kohli Ind 618 39.46 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014
27 (-3) Azhar Ali Pak 611 38.41 753 v SL at Pallekele 2012
28 (+4) MS Dhoni Ind 607 38.46 662 v SA at Kolkata 2010
34 (-4) Murali Vijay Ind 569 36.29 652 v Eng at Lord’s 2014
40 (+2) Kaushal Silva SL 541*! 36.69 541 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
43 (-9) Ajinkya Rahane Ind 531* 39.88 612 v Eng at The Rose Bowl 2014
47 (+1) Rohit Sharma Ind 504* 48.90 578 v NZ at Wellington 2014
48 (-3) R. Ashwin Ind 503* 38.86 527 v Eng at Old Trafford 2014
51 (+29) Sarfraz Ahmed Pak 482*! 32.53 482 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2014
52 (+49) Upul Tharanga SL 476* 30.87 508 v Ban at Bogra 2006
54 (-3) Gautam Gambhir Ind 460 42.58 886 v SL at Kanpur 2009
55 (+1) Jos Buttler Eng 455*! 66.66 455 v Ind at The Oval 2014
65 (-5) P.Jayawardena SL 421 30.51 510 v Eng at Galle 2012
67 (+11) Ahmed Shehzad Pak 399* 35.90 403 v SL at Sharjah 2014
69 (-4) K.Manzoor Pak 392* 28.17 467 v SA at Abu Dhabi 2013
73 (+2) Stuart Broad Eng 382 24.09 505 v Ind at The Oval 2011
76 (-5) D.Karunaratne SL 378* 30.47 393 v Eng at Headingley 2014
97 (-1) Moeen Ali Eng 312* 31.77 341 v Ind at Lord’s 2014
99 (+8) Sam Robson Eng 301* 30.54 347 v Ind at Trent Bridge 2014
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Econ HS Rating
1 ( – ) Dale Steyn SA 907 22.56 908 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013
2 ( – ) Ryan Harris Aus 870! 22.56 870 v SA at Cape Town 2014
3 (+2) Rangana Herath SL 851! 29.06 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
4 (-1) Mitchell Johnson Aus 844! 27.42 844 v SA at Cape Town 2014
5 (-1) James Anderson Eng 806 29.72 813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
6 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 785 21.57 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
7 ( – ) Tim Southee NZ 783 29.83 799 v WI at Kingston 2014
8 (+1) Stuart Broad Eng 774 29.90 783 v WI at Lord’s 2012
9 (-1) Saeed Ajmal Pak 762 28.10 855 v Zim at Harare 2013
10 ( – ) Trent Boult NZ 737* 27.45 767 v Ind at Wellington 2014
11= ( – ) Kemar Roach WI 733! 27.04 733 v NZ at Bridgetown 2014
( – ) Peter Siddle Aus 733 29.37 816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013
13 (+1) R.Ashwin Ind 710 28.65 808 v WI at Mumbai 2013
14 (-1) Morne Morkel SA 707 29.90 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
15 ( – ) Pragyan Ojha Ind 691 30.26 773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012
16 (+1) Junaid Khan Pak 652*! 28.83 652 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2014
17 (-1) Abdur Rehman Pak 650* 29.39 739 v Eng at Dubai 2012
18 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 613 33.36 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011
19 ( – ) Nathan Lyon Aus 607 32.99 648 v Eng at Melbourne 2013
20 ( – ) Ishant Sharma Ind 588 36.75 671 v WI at Dominica 2011
Selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Econ HS Rating
25 (-1) Dilruwan Perera SL 511* 30.08 531 v Pak at Galle 2014
27 (-1) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 505* 30.37 570 v SA at Durban 2013
28 ( – ) Shaminda Eranga SL 480* 34.22 541 v Eng at Headingley 2014
32 (+1) Moeen Ali Eng 440* 28.09 441 v Ind at Old Trafford 2014
34 (-2) B. Kumar Ind 409* 30.25 443 v Eng at Old Trafford 2014
37 (RE) C.Welegedara SL 398* 41.32 492 v SA at Durban 2011
50 (-1) Liam Plunkett Eng 325* 37.46 335 v Ind at Lord’s 2014
55 (RE) Wahab Riaz Pak 290* 32.34 312 v NZ at Hamilton 2011
56 ( – ) D.Prasad SL 285*! 48.36 285 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
59 (+36) Chris Jordan Eng 274*! 33.06 274 v Ind at The Oval 2014
86 (-4) Angelo Mathews SL 142* 61.78 151 v SA at Galle 2014
90 (-1) Varun Aaron Ind 132*! 47.37 132 v Eng at The Oval 2014
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Rating
1 (+1) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 364 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
2 (-1) R.Ashwin Ind 357*/ 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013
3 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 348*/ 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
4 ( – ) Stuart Broad Eng 296 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
5 ( – ) Mitchell Johnson Aus 280 384 v Eng at Cardiff 2009
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after a minimum of 40 started innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating after he has conceded 1,500 runs.
!indicates career-highest rating
