Anderson returns to top three as Bairstow achieves career-high ranking
England fast bowler James Anderson has returned to the top three of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after a stellar performance in the Headingley Test against Sri Lanka, which the home side won by an innings and 88 runs to go one-up in the three-Test series.
The 33-year-old Lancastrian returned figures of five for 16 and five for 29, his first 10-wicket haul at Headingley and third in 114 Tests, to leapfrog Yasir Shah of Pakistan and South Africa’s Dale Steyn into third place. Anderson earned 49 points for his performance, which has put him on a career-high 854 points.
Anderson now trails his new-ball partner and number-one ranked Stuart Broad by 18 points. Broad took five wickets in the Test and has retained his one-point lead over India’s off-spinner Ravichandaran Ashwin.
England’s Moeen Ali has moved up one place to 25th, Sri Lanka’s Shaminda Eranga has returned to the 35th spot, Dushmantha Chameera has gained three places and is now in 41st spot, and Dasun Shanaka, who took three for 36 on his Test debut, has entered in 86th place.
In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, England’s man of the match Jonny Bairstow has achieved a career-best ranking.
The wicketkeeper-batsman scored 140 and featured in a 141-run sixth wicket partnership with opener Alex Hales, which lifted England from 83 for five to 298. For this performance, Bairstow has been rewarded with 84 points, which has lifted the 26-year-old Yorkshireman 14 places to 22nd spot in the latest rankings.
Bairstow now has Pakistan’s Azhar Ali firmly within his sights as he aims to break into the top 20 for the first time in his career. He trails the Pakistan top-order batsman by 27 points.
Hales, who scored 86, has rocketed 38 places to 81st, while Kusal Mendis (60th, up by 13) and Lahiru Thirimanne (67th, up by nine) are the other batsmen to make upward movements.
Joe Root has retained his second place behind Australia captain Steve Smith, but the pre-Test 36-point gap has now opened to 49 points after Root failed to score any runs. He is now just eight points ahead of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.
Rival captains Angelo Mathews and Alastair Cook both failed to hold on to their places and have slipped one position each to ninth and 15th respectively.
The Test player rankings will now be updated following the Durham Test, which begins on Friday, 27 May.
MRF ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 22 May, after Leeds Test)
Batsmen (top 10)Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 925 60.18 936 v Eng at Lord's 2015
2 ( - ) Joe Root Eng 876 54.06 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
3 ( - ) Kane Williamson NZ 868 49.23 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
4 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 860 51.45 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
5 ( - ) Younus Khan Pak 826 53.94 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
6 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 818 50.46 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
7 ( - ) Adam Voges Aus 811\*! 95.50 811 v NZ at Christchurch 2016
8 (+1) David Warner Aus 800 50.06 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
9 (-1) Angelo Mathews SL 793 49.43 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
10 ( - ) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 764 48.89 842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014
Other selected rankingsRank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
15 (-1) Alastair Cook Eng 711 46.41 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
22 (+14) Jonny Bairstow Eng 646! 35.36 646 v SL at Headingley 2016
36 (-7) D. Karunaratne SL 561 33.93 619 v WI at Galle 2015
37 ( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 548 33.21 594 v Aus at Lord's 2015
45 (-3) Kaushal Silva SL 500 31.06 638 v Pak at Colombo (PSS) 2015
48 (-2) Moeen Ali Eng 476* 27.11 517 v Aus at The Oval 2015
60 (+13) Kusal Mendis SL 427*! 29.50 427 v Eng at Headingley 2016
Bowlers (top 10)Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
1 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 872 28.47 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
2 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 871! 25.39 871 v SA at Delhi 2015
3 (+2) James Anderson Eng 854! 28.62 854 v SL at Headingley 2016
4 (-1) Yasir Shah Pak 846\*! 24.17 846 v Eng at Sharjah 2015
5 (-1) Dale Steyn SA 841 22.53 909 v WI at Centurion 2014
6 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 789\*! 23.76 789 v SA at Delhi 2015
7 ( - ) Trent Boult NZ 757 29.14 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
8 ( - ) Josh Hazlewood Aus 741\* 25.77 792 v WI at Hobart 2015
9 ( - ) Morne Morkel SA 724 29.33 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
10 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 717 22.08 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
11 ( - ) Rangana Herath SL 716 29.76 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
19 ( - ) Steven Finn Eng 593 28.00 624 v NZ at Headingley 2013
25 (+1) Moeen Ali Eng 510* 39.18 557 v SA at Durban 2015
27 ( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 501*! 37.84 501 v SL at Headingley 2016
35 (RE) Shaminda Eranga SL 419* 35.49 541 v Eng at Headingley 2014
41 (+3) D. Chameera SL 377*! 27.28 377 v Eng at Headingley 2016
All-rounders (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Rating
1 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 406 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013
2 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 384 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014
3 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 301 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
4= (+1) Vernon Philander SA 275\*/ 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 275 /\* 276 v SA at Centurion 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 wickets.!indicates career-highest rating
For more information on player rankings, please click here.
