Khawaja continues to make upward movement
Australia’s Usman Khawaja has continued to make great strides in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsman, which were released on Tuesday morning following the conclusion of the Wellington Test.
Khawaja scored 140, his fourth century in six innings, which has lifted him ten places to a career-high 27thposition. The left-hander is still in the qualification period for batsmen and he is expected to move further up the ladder, depending on how he performs in the second Test, which starts in Christchurch on Saturday.
A batsman qualifies for full points when he has played 40 Test innings, and the 29 year old has scored 1,879 runs in 23 innings in 14 Tests. Khawaja had started his season in 65th position and has already gained 38 places.
Adam Voges, who won the player of the match award in Wellington for his 239, has moved up one place to ninth and now has eighth-ranked Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka firmly within his sights. The right-hander, too, is in the qualification period as he has played 19 innings in which he has scored 1,267 runs at an average of just under 98.
The list is headed by Australia captain Steven Smith, while Joe Root claimed sole possession of second spot after Kane Williamson slipped to third, 18 points behind the Englishman and 11 points ahead of South Africa’s Hashim Amla.
In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Mark Craig have moved up one place each to seventh, 13th and 38th respectively, while Mitchell Marsh has gained two spots and is now in 47th position.
Stuart Broad is the No. 1-ranked bowler, leading India’s Ravichandran Ashwin by just one point. Yasir Shah of Pakistan and Dale Steyn of South Africa are third and fourth respectively.
Meanwhile, Australia needs to draw the Christchurch Test to finish as the No.1-ranked Test side at the 1 Aprilannual cut-off date. If Australia achieves this result, then it will also reclaim the Test mace as well as cash award of $ 1million.
On the other side of the coin, if New Zealand manages to draw the series, then Australia will join South Africa on 109 points but will be ranked below the Proteas by a fraction of a point. In this scenario, Australia will receive $ 200K, while South Africa will receive $ 500K and India $1 million. Pakistan is guaranteed to pocket $ 100K for finishing fourth.
MRF TYRES ICC TEST PLAYER RANKING (as of 16 February, after Wellington Test between New Zealand and Australia)
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 901 58.11 936 v Eng at Lord's 2015
2 ( - ) Joe Root Eng 889 54.93 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
3 (-1) K. Williamson NZ 871 49.16 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
4 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 860 51.45 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
5 ( - ) David Warner Aus 832 50.81 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
6 ( - ) Younus Khan Pak 826 53.94 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
7 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 818 50.46 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
8 ( - ) Angelo Mathews SL 808 50.18 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
9 (+1) Adam Voges Aus 790*! 97.46 790 v NZ at Wellington 2016
10 (-1) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 764 48.89 842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
14 (-2) Ross Taylor NZ 723 45.49 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
21 (-2) B. McCullum NZ 646 38.07 760 v SL at Christchurch 2014
27 (+10) Usman Khawaja Aus 613*! 51.05 613 v NZ at Wellington 2016
31 (+1) Tom Latham NZ 580* 39.03 590 v SL at Dunedin 2015
35 (-6) BJ Watling NZ 560 36.81 644 v Eng at Headingley 2015
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Econ HS Rating
1 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 872 28.66 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
2 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 871! 25.39 871 v SA at Delhi 2015
3 ( - ) Yasir Shah Pak 846*! 24.17 846 v Eng at Sharjah 2015
4 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 841 22.53 909 v WI at Centurion 2014
5 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 805 29.18 847 v WI at Barbados 2015
6 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 789*! 23.76 789 v SA at Delhi 2015
7 (+1) Josh Hazlewood Aus 781* 24.08 792 v WI at Hobart 2015
8 (-1) Trent Boult NZ 772 28.59 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
9 ( - ) Tim Southee NZ 728 31.61 799 v WI at Jamaica 2014
10 ( - ) Morne Morkel SA 724 29.33 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Econ HS Rating
13 (+1) Nathan Lyon Aus 696 ! 32.84 696 v NZ at Wellington 2016
15 ( - ) Peter Siddle Aus 627 29.88 816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013
35 (-1) Doug Bracewell NZ 418 * 38.05 538 v WI at Jamaica 2012
38 (+1) Mark Craig NZ 405 *! 45.56 405 v Aus at Wellington 2016
47 (+2) Mitchell Marsh Aus 346 * 31.33 349 v WI at Melbourne 2015
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 310 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
4 ( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 276 /*! 276 v SA at Centurion 2016
5 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 275*/ 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
