Boult, Morkel move up after nine-wicket match hauls
Fast bowlers Trent Boult and Morne Morkel have made significant gains in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after their player of the match efforts in the Auckland and Cape Town Tests, respectively.
New Zealand’s new-ball bowler Boult has moved up five slots to seventh position after his match haul of nine for 99 helped defeat England by an innings and 49 runs to go 1-0 up in their two-match series. The left-arm bowler took six wickets as England were dismissed for only 58 runs in the first innings in Auckland, their sixth-lowest total ever.
Morkel has similarly moved up five places to take sixth position, grabbing nine for 110 to help South Africa defeat Australia by 322 runs and take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series. Morkel has risen to 798 points, his best ever rating points tally with just one Test to go for retirement. Morkel’s highest ever ranking position was third in November 2010.
There is no change among the top five bowlers but Australia pace bowler Pat Cummins is another one to move up, his seven wickets in Cape Town taking him to 18th position, the first time he has made it to the top 20.
South Africa openers Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram have both attained career-best rankings. Elgar’s first innings score of 141 not out, when he carried the bat for a record-equaling third time in Tests, has lifted him to eighth position while Markram’s second innings score of 84 has helped him gain seven slots and reach 15th place.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (up one place to third) and middle-order batsman Henry Nicholls (up 22 places to 32nd), South Africa’s Quinton de Kock (up five places to 19th) and Australia opener Cameron Bancroft (up 22 places to 56th) are among the others to move up in the latest rankings.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings ( as of 27 March, after the Auckland and Cape Town Tests) :
Batsmen (top 10) ****
|
Rank |
(+/-) |
Player |
Team |
Pts |
Avge |
Highest Rating |
|
1 |
( - ) |
Steve Smith |
Aus |
938 |
61.37 |
947 v SA at Durban 2018 |
|
2 |
( - ) |
Virat Kohli |
Ind |
912! |
53.40 |
912 v SA at Johannesburg 2018 |
|
3 |
(+1) |
Kane Williamson |
NZ |
878 |
51.11 |
893 v Aus at Perth 2015 |
|
4 |
(-1) |
Joe Root |
Eng |
870 |
52.77 |
917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015 |
|
5 |
( - ) |
David Warner |
Aus |
828 |
48.20 |
880 v NZ at Perth 2015 |
|
6 |
(+1) |
AB de Villiers |
SA |
819 |
50.81 |
935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014 |
|
7 |
(-1) |
C. Pujara |
Ind |
810 |
50.51 |
888 v SL at Nagpur 2017 |
|
8 |
(+5) |
Dean Elgar |
SA |
772! |
42.38 |
772 v Aus at Cape Town 2018 |
|
9 |
(-1) |
Azhar Ali |
Pak |
755 |
46.62 |
787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016 |
|
10 |
(-1) |
Hashim Amla |
SA |
745 |
48.31 |
907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013 |
Other selected rankings
|
Rank |
(+/-) |
Player |
Team |
Pts |
Avge |
Highest Rating |
|
15 |
(+7) |
Aiden Markram |
SA |
688*! |
50.68 |
688 v Aus at Cape Town 2018 |
|
19 |
(+5) |
Quinton de Kock |
SA |
653 |
38.91 |
802 v NZ at Hamilton 2017 |
|
32 |
(+22) |
Henry Nicholls |
NZ |
610*! |
38.04 |
610 v Eng at Auckland 2018 |
|
56 |
(+22) |
C. Bancroft |
Aus |
483*! |
30.92 |
483 v SA at Cape Town 2018 |
|
61 |
(+5) |
Tim Paine |
Aus |
461*! |
41.66 |
461 v SA at Cape Town 2018 |
Bowlers (top 10) ****
|
Rank |
(+/-) |
Player |
Team |
Pts |
Avge |
Highest Rating |
|
1 |
( - ) |
Kagiso Rabada |
SA |
899 |
21.56 |
902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018 |
|
2 |
( - ) |
James Anderson |
Eng |
887 |
27.41 |
896 v Win at Lord's 2017 |
|
3 |
( - ) |
Ravindra Jadeja |
Ind |
844 |
23.73 |
899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017 |
|
4 |
( - ) |
R. Ashwin |
Ind |
803 |
25.56 |
904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016 |
|
5 |
( - ) |
Josh Hazlewood |
Aus |
802 |
26.00 |
863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017 |
|
6 |
(+5) |
Morne Morkel |
SA |
798! |
27.73 |
798 v Aus at Cape Town 2018 |
|
7 |
(+5) |
Trent Boult |
NZ |
792 |
27.80 |
825 v Eng at Lord's 2015 |
|
8 |
(-2) |
Neil Wagner |
NZ |
781 |
27.82 |
785 v Win at Wellington 2017 |
|
9= |
(-2) |
Rangana Herath |
SL |
777 |
28.18 |
867 v Zim at Harare 2016 |
|
|
(-1) |
Vernon Philander |
SA |
777 |
22.18 |
912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013 |
Other selected rankings ****
|
Rank |
(+/-) |
Player |
Team |
Pts |
Avge |
Highest Rating |
|
16 |
(+1) |
Tim Southee |
NZ |
695 |
31.23 |
799 v Win at Jamaica 2014 |
|
18 |
(+5) |
Pat Cummins |
Aus |
683*! |
25.10 |
683 v SA at Cape Town 2018 |
All-rounders (top five) ****
|
Rank |
(+/-) |
Player |
Team |
Pts |
Highest Rating |
|
1 |
( - ) |
Shakib Al Hasan |
Ban |
421 |
489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017 |
|
2 |
( - ) |
Ravindra Jadeja |
Ind |
391 |
438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017 |
|
3 |
( - ) |
R. Ashwin |
Ind |
368 |
493 v Eng at Mohali 2016 |
|
4 |
( - ) |
Ben Stokes |
Eng |
349/* |
396 v Win at Lord's 2017 |
|
5 |
( - ) |
Vernon Philander |
SA |
336 |
376 v Aus at Cape Town 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
For more information on player rankings, please click here.