ICC Test Rankings Archives

Babar Azam suffers steep decline, Rizwan makes big leap in ICC Test Rankings

DUBAI: Pakistan batter Babar Azam experienced a significant drop in his position, while wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan witnessed a substantial rise in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings released on Wednesday.

Pakistan suffered their first-ever defeat against Bangladesh in Tests when they succumbed to a 10-wicket defeat in the opening Test of the two-match series. The recent defeat has led to a drop in the ICC Test rankings for the players of Pakistan.

Babar Azam has been out of form lately and gave a forgettable performance in the first Test against Bangladesh, returning with scores of 0 and 22.

The star batter dropped a massive six positions, falling from third to ninth with 734 points, only six points shy of fellow countryman Mohammad Rizwan.

The wicketkeeper batter, on the other hand, enjoyed a substantial surge in the ICC Test Rankings, thanks to his scores of 171 not out and 51.

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Rizwan’s impressive performance has propelled him up seven spots to achieve his career-high ranking, securing a spot in the top 10 for the first time. He is ranked joint-tenth alongside Australia’s Usman Khawaja with 728 rating points.

Pakistan vice-captain Saud Shakeel played a 141-run knock in the first innings before falling for a duck in the second innings, resulting in his one-spot rise to 13th.

Meanwhile, pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi dropped two places to tenth after a below-par performance in the first Test against Bangladesh, returning with figures of 2-88 in the first innings.

Opening batter Abdullah Shafique also sunk three places to 34th after scoring a total of 39 runs across both innings of the Rawalpindi Test.

On the other hand, Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim climbed seven places to reach his career-best 17th, courtesy of his stellar 191-run knock.

READ: Abrar Ahmed joins Pakistan squad for second Bangladesh Test

Naseem Shah, Mohammad Rizwan rise in ICC Test Rankings

DUBAI: Pakistan’s wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and right-arm pacer Naseem Shah made notable strides in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Rankings, updated Wednesday.

South Africa’s Test captain Temba Bavuma, who scored 85 and 16 in the first Test against West Indies, slipped four places down to the 20th, after a disappointing outing in the second Test.

Bavuma perished for a duck in the first innings of the Providence Test and could score just four in the second which saw him losing his spot in the Test Batting Rankings.

As a result, England’s Ben Duckett, Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan, India’s Shubman Gill and England’s Zak Crawley all jumped a place and occupied 16th to 19th rank respectively.

South Africa’s opener Aiden Markam and wicketkeeper batter Kyle Verreynne got the reward of their half-centuries. Markram jumped up two places to 21st while Verreynne surged from 62nd to 46th.

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In the ICC Test Bowling Rankings, West Indies’ pacer Jayden Seales jumped up 13 places to achieve career-best ranking of 13th.

Seales took nine wickets in West Indies’ 40-run loss against South Africa in the Test.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Wiaan Mulder, who was adjudged the Player of the Match in the second Test against West Indies for his 4/32 and 2/35 advanced 27 places to 65th.

West Indies bowlers also made strides in the Test Bowling Rankings as Shamar Joseph climbed 11 spots to 54th while Jomel Warrican (52nd) and Gudakesh Motie (64th) jumped two spots each.

However, West Indies all-rounder Kyle Mayers slipped a place and was consequently replaced by Naseem Shah, who claimed the 37th spot.

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Australia become number one Test team after rankings annual update

DUBAI: Australia overtook India to claim the number one spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Test team Rankings after the annual update on Friday.

The reigning World champions reached the summit of the ICC Test rankings, owing to their 209-run victory over India in the World Test Championship final at The Oval last year.

Australia are four points ahead of India (120) and 19 points clear of third-placed England (105) after the annual rankings update.

There were no other changes in the rankings as South Africa (103), New Zealand (96), Pakistan (89), Sri Lanka (83), West Indies (82) and Bangladesh (53) remained unchanged in positions between fourth and ninth.

“The rankings update only takes into consideration teams’ performances after May 2021, with India’s impressive 2-1 series triumph over Australia under skipper Virat Kohli that finished in January of 2021 dropping out of the rankings period,” the ICC said in a press release.

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“All results between May 2021 and May 2023 are then weighted at 50 percent and the ones in the following 12 months – that includes Australia’s World Test Championship final victory – then weighted at 100 percent.”

Meanwhile, India continued their dominance in white-ball rankings as they remained at the top in ODI and T20I rankings.

The Indian cricket team has increased their lead over the second-ranked Australian team by six points in the ICC ODI team rankings.

India is on top with 122 points, followed by Australia (116) and South Africa (112).

In the ICC T20I Rankings Australia (257) has reduced the gap to seven points with India (264). Meanwhile, England are placed at third spot with 252 points.

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India become number one team in all three formats

DUBAI: India have climbed to the number one spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Test Team Rankings following an emphatic 4-1 series victory against England.

The Indian team moved past Australia who are now second in the table, according to the rankings released by the ICC late on Saturday.

India lost the opening Test against England before bouncing back to win the remaining four matches, including the final game which ended in Dharamsala on Saturday.

In January, India had slipped to second place in the Test rankings after a drawn 1-1 series against South Africa.

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Australia overtook India at the top after sweeping the three-Test series at home against Pakistan.

Currently, Australia lead the two-Test series against New Zealand 1-0 following their 172-run victory in Wellington.

India will remain at the top regardless of the outcome of the second New Zealand-Australia Test in Christchurch.

Notably, India are already the number-one team in the ICC Men’s ODI Rankings as well as the ICC Men’s T20I Rankings.

They are also at the top of the ICC World Test Championship Standings table.

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Ashwin drops rating points, tied with Anderson as No. 1 Test bowler

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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Ashwin cuts short Anderson’s stint as No.1 Test bowler

DUBAI: Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin ended James Anderson’s brief stay at the top of the ICC Test bowling rankings only a week after he dethroned Pat Cummins to become the No.1 bowler in the longest format.

According to International Cricket Council’s players’ rankings update, Ashwin rose to the top of the Test bowlers chart and pushed Anderson to the second, credit to their recent performances in the two Tests – one held in Delhi and the other in Wellington.

Ashwin took six wickets during India’s emphatic victory over Australia in the second Test while Anderson bagged three wickets in the first innings and remained wicketless in the second during England’s stunning loss to New Zealand by one run in Wellington.

The 36-year-old Ashwin has claimed the top spot on several occasions since 2015 when he bagged the honour for the first time.

Similarly, the 40-year-old England quick held the title six times during his prolific career and it was only a week ago when he surged to 866 rating points to remove Australia’s Cummins from the top billing after four years.

“Although the veteran (Anderson) made an impact again in the remarkable second Test, taking three top-order wickets in the first innings, he is now five rating points behind Ashwin who remains on 864 points.” said the ICC statement.

Moreover, in the Test batting charts, England’s Joe Root displaced Pakistan’s all-format from the third position as he jumped two places.

Babar is now ranked fourth on the ICC Test batters’ list, nine rating points behind Root’s 871 while Australia duo, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith remain first and second respectively.

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Root displaces Babar from top-three in Test batting rankings

DUBAI: England’s Joe Root has taken over Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam as the third-ranked player in the ICC Test batting rankings.

According to International Cricket Council’s latest ranking updates, Root jumped ahead of Babar and Australia’s Travis Head to the third spot after his superb comeback in the second Test against New Zealand.

Babar dropped one spot to fourth with 862 rating points as Root went nine points ahead of him.

However, Australian duo Marnus Labuschagne (912) and Steve Smith (875) remain first and second respectively on the list.

Former skipper Root scored 153 and 95 respectively during Enland’s stunning loss to New Zealand by one run in the recent Wellington Test.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Tom Blundell stepped into the top 10, moving four places to the seventh after he helped the Black Caps with a crucial 83 during the follow-on innings in the same Test.

Young Englishman Harry Brook, however, continues his impressive run with bat as well as on the rankings charts as he climbed 15 places to draw level with Virat Kohli in 16th after another brilliant century.

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ICC rectifies ranking glitch, Australia stay atop India on Test list

DUBAI: Australia remain the top-ranked side on the Test rankings, clarified International Cricket Council on Thursday while apologising for ‘erroneously’ listing India as the number one Test team for a brief period.

India crushed Australia by an inning and 132 runs in the first Test of the four-game series in Nagpur, and on Wednesday, the ICC displayed India at the top of the Test rankings with Australia slipping to number two.

“The ICC acknowledges, for a short period of time on February 15, 2023 that, due to a technical error, India were erroneously displayed as the No.1 Test team on the ICC website,” it said in a media release.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

ICC clarified that in the latest rankings update – made after the conclusion of Zimbabwe’s two-match series against West Indies – Australia continued to retain its top spot on the list of Test teams.

“Australia will head into the second Test against India in Delhi, starting on Friday, January 17, as the No.1-ranked team with 126 rating points, 11 above India’s 115,” it said.

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Labuschagne dethrones Root to reclaim No.1 spot in Test rankings

DUBAI: Marnus Labuschagne has taken away the top spot from England’s Joe Root in the latest ICC Test Rankings after a dominant performance in the First Test against West Indies.

Labuschagne smashed double and single centuries in the same Test, helping Australia to climb to the top of the men’s team rankings following their sensational 164-run win against West Indies in Perth on Sunday.

According to the latest update of the players ranking released by the ICC on Wednesday, Labuchagne recaptured the No.1 position with a rating of 935 points, just one behind his career best of 936, while his teammate Steve Smith (893) also jumped two spots to finish in second on the Test batters’ list.

With a mixed performance in the recently-concluded Rawalpindi Test, Root, however, slipped to the fourth with 876 points, three points behind Pakistan skipper Babar Azam (879), who retained his No.3 spot on the back of first-innings century against England in the first Test.

Meanwhile, in the bowlers’ rankings, Pakistan’s injured pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has witnessed a drop in his rankings as he slips to the fifth position with Australian captain Pat Cummin at the top of the list.

India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and England’s James Anderson occupy second and third place, respectively.

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Shaheen replaces Bumrah to claim third spot in ICC Test Bowling Rankings

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