Tag: ICC Test Bowling Rankings

DUBAI: Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Noman Ali has surged to second place in the latest ICC Test bowling rankings on Wednesday following his stellar performance against South Africa in the first Test of the ongoing two-match series.

Noman’s remarkable rise, jumping four spots to reach 853 rating points, has placed him within striking distance of the top-ranked Jasprit Bumrah of India.

The 39-year-old’s dominant showing in Lahore, where he picked up 6-112 and 4-79 in Pakistan’s 93-run victory, propelled him past several established names, including Kagiso Rabada, who slipped to fifth.

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With this achievement, Noman Ali becomes only the seventh Pakistani bowler ever to cross the 850-point mark, and the first since Yasir Shah reached the feat back in July 2016.

His previous best was fifth position earlier this year, during Pakistan’s home series against the West Indies, when he touched 806 points.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy sits third in the updated rankings.

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Among other Pakistani bowlers, Shaheen Afridi made notable progress, climbing three spots to 19th. Sajid Khan retained his 21st position, while Mohammad Abbas (27th) and Naseem Shah (34th) also held their places.

Further down the list, Hasan Ali (42nd) and Abrar Ahmed (48th) remained stable, though Khurram Shahzad and Aamer Jamal slipped to 66th and 74th, respectively.

READ: Debutant Asif Afridi shatters 92-year-old record with five-wicket haul

DUBAI: Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Noman Ali has broken into the top five of the latest ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings.

The updated rankings, released on Wednesday following South Africa’s memorable win over Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023–25 final at Lord’s, saw major shifts across both batting and bowling charts.

On the batting front, Saud Shakeel continues to impress. The left-hander moved up one place to seventh, now sitting at 739 rating points.

However, Mohammad Rizwan dropped to 16th with 671 points, while Babar Azam stayed put at 21st, holding 651 points.

Other notable Pakistani batters include Salman Ali Agha at 31st (592 points), Shan Masood at 45th (542), Abdullah Shafique at 51st, Kamran Ghulam at 81st, and Saim Ayub at 88th.

England’s Joe Root continues to lead the Test batting rankings, followed by compatriot Harry Brook and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.

Aiden Markram, Player of the Match in the WTC final, surged seven places to 11th, narrowly missing out on the top 10. South Africa’s David Bedingham leapt 17 spots to sit at 40th, alongside Australia’s Cameron Green.

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Meanwhile, Noman Ali, who’s been a consistent performer for Pakistan in Test cricket, climbed to fourth spot with 806 points, capitalising on dips from Australian duo Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, both of whom slipped one place each.

Moreover, Sajid Khan and Shaheen Afridi retained their 21st and 23rd positions, respectively, with Mohammad Abbas holding steady at 29th.

Further down, Abrar Ahmed (52nd), Khurram Shahzad (64th), Aamer Jamal (72nd), Mir Hamza (93rd), Salman Ali Agha (95th), and Zahid Mahmood (97th) round off Pakistan’s representation.

Jasprit Bumrah of India remains the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, ahead of South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada and Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins.

Lungi Ngidi, who turned the WTC final on its head with a fiery second-innings spell, jumped seven spots to 37th, now sharing the position with Naseem Shah and Lahiru Kumara.

Mitchell Starc, with a five-wicket haul and a half-century in the final, climbed into the top 10 of both the bowling and all-rounder rankings.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Beau Webster, their top-scorer in the first innings at Lord’s, gained 13 places on the batting chart.

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DUBAI: Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel and spinner Noman Ali made their way to the top ten in the ICC Test Rankings owing to their brilliant performance in the first Test victory against West Indies.

Pakistan thumped West Indies by 127 runs on the third day of the first of a two-match Test series earlier this week.

Noman Ali claimed a five-wicket haul in the first innings, followed by a solitary wicket in the second innings.

This performance helped the left-arm spinner to jump back into the top ten of the ICC Test Bowling rankings as he gained two places to reach ninth with 761 rating points.

Noman’s fellow spinner Sajid Khan, who took nine wickets and won the Player of the Match award, also made notable gains in the bowling rankings. Sajid made an impressive 18-place leap to reach the 23rd spot with 621 rating points.

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Meanwhile, Abrar Ahmed made an immediate impact on his return to Pakistan’s Test team, taking five wickets, including a 4-27 in the second innings. He jumped six places to 52nd with 406 rating points.

On the batting front, Pakistan’s vice-captain Saud Shakeel returned to the top ten after his gutsy 84-run knock in the first innings against West Indies.

The southpaw rose three spots to reach the eighth place in the ICC Test Batting rankings with 753 rating points.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan, who scored 71 runs in the first innings and stitched a 141-run stand with Saud, also jumped two places to the 17th position with 662 points.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood also made gains after his half-century in the second innings as he rose three places to 42nd spot.

READ: Former Pakistan captain compares Babar Azam’s popularity with Shahid Afridi

DUBAI: South African pacer Kagiso Rabada has replaced Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah to become the top-ranked bowler in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Test Bowling Rankings on Wednesday.

Rabada reached the summit of Test bowling after his match-winning performance in the first Test of the ongoing series against Bangladesh.

The right-arm pacer claimed nine wickets in the match and breached the 300-wicket landmark during South Africa’s seven-wicket victory last week.

As a result of his brilliant performance, Kagiso Rabada made a leap of three places to reclaim the top spot in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings for the first time since 2019.

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Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah dropped two places to third after a below-par performance in India’s two losses against New Zealand in the ongoing home Test series.

Bumrah took three wickets in the first Test, where India were bundled for 46 in the first innings, and remained wicketless in the second match.

His team-mate Ravichandran Ashwin, who took six wickets in two Tests against New Zealand, also lost two places and is now placed fourth with 831 rating points.

As a result of Bumrah and Ashwin’s decline, Australia’s Josh Hazlewood gained one spot to claim second place in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings.

READ: Saud Shakeel, Noman Ali enter top ten in ICC Test Rankings

DUBAI: India’s veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dropped six rating points as per the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test bowling rankings released on Wednesday but retained the top spot with England’s pacer James Anderson.

Ashwin, who surged to the top spot in the Test bowling rankings last week, saw a frustrating dip in his rating points as he could take four wickets in two innings of the third Test against Australia.

A slump in the spinner’s rating points, allowed Anderson to share the top spot with 859 points each.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi also jumped a spot in the rankings and replaced his Indian counterpart Jasprit Bumrah to capture the fifth spot.

Australia’s third Test hero Nathan Lyon got the reward of his magnificent bowling figures as the right-arm spinner stormed into the Top 10 rankings, jumping six places to claim ninth rank.

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DUBAI: England veteran pacer James Anderson ended the supremacy of Australia captain Pat Cummins on the ICC Test bowlers’ rankings after four years.

Veteran Anderson dethroned Cummins to become the No.1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings, on the back of his seven-wicket haul during England’s dominant  267-run win over the Black Caps in Mount Maunganui last week.

At the ripe age of 40 years and 207 days, Anderson is also the oldest player to claim top billing in the rankings – a record which was earlier held by the Australian leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmett back in 1936.

“It is the sixth time that Anderson has held the title as the premier bowler on the Test rankings, with the right-armer first scaling the heights back in May 2016 when he went past teammate Stuart Broad and Ashwin to hold top billing.” said International Cricket Council on its website.

Anderson has been a mainstay in England’s bowling attack in the longest format of the game since he made his debut way back in 2003. He has taken a total of 682 Test scalps to be third on the all-time list of leading wicket-takers behind spin duo Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708).

“Anderson’s lead at the top is very slender though, with Ashwin remaining in second place on a total of 864 rating points and just two rating points behind the England pacer.” added ICC.

Cummins, who drops to third with 858 rating points, has a chance to regain the top spot through solid performances during Australia’s ongoing Test series against India.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga has surpassed Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan to top the T20I bowling rankings, as a consequence of Rashid’s unimpressive showing in the three matches against UAE held recently during which he took only four wickets

READ: South Africa outclass Bangladesh to reach Women’s T20 WC semi-final

DUBAI: Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has replaced his Indian counterpart Jasprit Bumrah in the updated International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Bowling Rankings to claim the third rank.

Left-arm pacer Shaheen continued his march in the Test bowling charts as he claimed his career-best third spot in the longest format of the game.

Shaheen, who dazzled in the first Test of the ongoing two-match series against Sri Lanka by taking four wickets for 79 runs, has been rewarded for his outstanding bowling performance as he has moved up to replace Indian pacer Bumrah.

Australia’s Test captain and right-arm pacer Pat Cummins still dominates the charts with 891 rating points, followed by Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

It is important to note that Shaheen’s absence from the second Test due to a knee injury could make it difficult for the left-arm pacer to hold onto third place, as his lead over Bumrah is only eight rating points.

READ: Babar Azam rises to third in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings