Kraigg Brathwaite surges into top 20 of ICC Test rankings for first time

West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite has moved into the top 20 of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen for the first time after playing a stellar role in his team’s five-wicket win over Pakistan in the third and final Test in Sharjah that ended on Thursday.

Brathwaite, who became the first opener to remain unbeaten in both innings of a Test match with scores of 142 and 60, has gained 13 places to reach a career-best 19th rank while helping the West Indies pull one back in the series that Pakistan won 2-1.

Pakistan, which was top-ranked till India overtook it last month, has lost two points in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings despite the series win because it went in with a 44-point lead over the West Indies and the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference. But Pakistan remains in second position with 109 points, six points behind India and just one point ahead of third-placed Australia. The West Indies has gained two points to reach 69 points and remains in eighth position.

Brathwaite was not the only West Indies batsman to gain in the rankings led by Australia captain Steve Smith as wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich has gained 27 slots to reach a career-best 58th position. He scored 47 and 60 not out and figured in an unbroken stand of 87 with Brathwaite to see the team through to a target of 153 in Sharjah.

For Pakistan, which has four batsmen in the top-20 – Younus Khan (fifth), captain Misbah-ul-Haq (10th), opener Azhar Ali (12th) and Asad Shafiq (17th), Sami Aslam moved up two positions to a career-best 60th position after scores of 74 and 17 in Sharjah.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer has moved up 24 places to a career-best 86th rank after scores of 102 not out and 43 in the first Test of a two-match series against Sri Lanka which ended in Harare on Wednesday.

Hamilton Masakadza too has gained one place to reach 42nd position after scores of 33 and 20, while for Sri Lanka, Dimuth Karunaratne has moved up 10 places to reach 41st rank and Kaushal Silva has moved up one place to 40th position. Karunaratne made 56 and 110 in Harare while Silva had scores of 94 and seven.

In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers led by India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz has gained four places to reach a career-best 24th rank. The left-arm pace bowler took seven wickets in Sharjah, including a haul of five for 88 in the first innings.

For the West Indies, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo has gained seven places to reach a career-best 29th rank after taking seven wickets in the match while captain Jason Holder’s haul of five for 30 in the second innings has helped him move up 12 positions to 47th rank.

Sri Lanka captain Rangana Herath has retained his fourth position in the rankings with six wickets in the match, while for Zimbabwe, Carl Mumba has moved up one position to 76th rank.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings (as of 4 November 2016, after the Pakistan-West Indies Test series) ****

Rank Team Points

1. India                  115
   

2. Pakistan             109 (-2)
   

3. Australia            108
   

4. England             105
   

5. South Africa        96
   

6. Sri Lanka             95
   

7. New Zealand        91
   

8. West Indies          69 (+2)
   

9. Bangladesh          65
   

10. Zimbabwe 8

(Developed by David Kendix)

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 4 November 2016, after the third Test between Pakistan and West Indies and the first Test between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka)

Batsmen (top 20) ****

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating

1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 906 58.55 936 v Eng at Lord's 2015

2 (+1) Hashim Amla SA 847 51.16 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

3 (+1) K.Williamson NZ 841 50.31 893 v Aus at Perth 2015

4 (+1) Joe Root Eng 834 53.28 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

5 (-3) Younus Khan Pak 832 53.98 880 v SL at Lahore 2009

6 ( - ) Ajinkya Rahane Ind 825! 51.37 825 v NZ at Indore 2016

7= ( - ) Adam Voges Aus 802* 72.75 824 v SL at Galle 2016

( - ) AB de Villiers SA 802 50.46 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

9 ( - ) David Warner Aus 772 48.63 880 v NZ at Perth 2015

10 ( - ) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 744 48.31 842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014

11 ( - ) Alastair Cook Eng 738 46.87 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012

12 ( - ) Azhar Ali Pak 733 46.10 754 v WI at Dubai 2016

13 (+1) C. Pujara Ind 731 49.22 851 v SA at Durban 2013

14 ( - ) A. Mathews SL 724 47.16 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014

15= (+1) Virat Kohli Ind 718 45.56 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014

(+1) Jonny Bairstow Eng 718 40.84 750 v Ban at Chittagong 2016

17 (-4) Asad Shafiq Pak 691 42.62 758 v Eng at Lord's 2016

18 ( - ) D. Chandimal SL 685 44.25 692 v Aus at Colombo (SSC) 2016

19 (+13) K. Brathwaite WI 677! 37.52 677 v Pak at Sharjah 2016

20 (-1) Ross Taylor NZ 675 46.24 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013

Other selected rankings

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating

40 (+1) Kaushal Silva SL 525 31.56 638 v Pak at Colombo (PSS) 2015

41 (+10) D. Karunaratne SL 523 33.18 619 v WI at Galle 2015

42 (+1) H. Masakadza Zim 522* 29.73 559 v Ban at Chittagong 2014

58 (+27) Shane Dowrich WI 439*! 34.08 439 v Pak at Sharjah 2016

82 (+4) Roston Chase WI 345* 29.54 397 v Ind at Jamaica 2016

60 (+2) Sami Aslam Pak 435*! 41.25 435 v WI at Sharjah 2016

91 (+1) Sean Williams Zim 311* 26.10 321 v NZ at Bulawayo 2016

86 (+24) Graeme Cremer Zim 338*! 16.12 338 v SL at Harare 2016

Bowlers (top 20)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating

1 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 900! 24.29 900 v NZ at Indore 2016

2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 878 22.24 909 v WI at Centurion 2014

3 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 853 28.28 884 v SL at Durham 2016

4 ( - ) Rangana Herath SL 832 28.60 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014

5 (+1) Stuart Broad Eng 821 28.48 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016

6 (-1) Yasir Shah Pak 820 27.37 878 v Eng at Lord's 2016

7 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 805* 23.52 809 v NZ at Kolkata 2016

8 ( - ) Mitchell Starc Aus 792! 27.36 792 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2016

9 ( - ) Neil Wagner NZ 731* 29.63 760 v SA at Centurion 2016

10 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 723 22.09 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

11= ( - ) Trent Boult NZ 715 29.56 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015

( - ) Josh Hazlewood Aus 715* 26.40 792 v WI at Hobart 2015

13 ( - ) Morne Morkel SA 710 29.33 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

14 ( - ) Nathan Lyon Aus 677 32.80 696 v NZ at Wellington 2016

15 ( - ) Dilruwan Perera SL 674*! 27.70 674 v Zim at Harare 2016

16 ( - ) S. Al Hasan Ban 672 32.16 700 v Zim at Khulna 2014

17 ( - ) Tim Southee NZ 637 32.63 799 v WI at Jamaica 2014

18 ( - ) Chris Woakes Eng 603* 25.86 609 v Pak at The Oval 2016

19 ( - ) Peter Siddle Aus 602 29.88 816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013

20 ( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 579*! 33.32 579 v Ban at Mirpur 2016

Other selected rankings ****

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating

24 (+4) Wahab Riaz Pak 552*! 32.93 552 v WI at Sharjah 2016

29 (+7) D. Bishoo WI 512*! 37.00 512 v Pak at Sharjah 2016

38 (+2) Shannon Gabriel WI 427*! 38.12 427 v Pak at Sharjah 2016

47 (+12) Jason Holder WI 342* 41.00 365 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2015

77 (+7) Roston Chase WI 162* 58.45 164 v Ind at Trinidad 2016

76 (+1) Carl Mumba Zim 164*! 30.20 164 v SL at Harare 2016

All-rounders (top five)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Highest Rating

1 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 451! 451 v NZ at Indore 2016

2 ( - ) S. Al Hasan Ban 405 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014

3 ( - ) Moeen Ali Eng 318 /*! 318 v Ban at Mirpur 2016

4 ( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 312 /*! 312 v Ban at Mirpur 2016

5 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 292*/*! 292 v NZ at Indore 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.