South Africa opener jumps 65 places on T20I batter rankings

South Africa right-hander Connor Esterhuizen has risen a whopping 65 spots following the latest update to the ICC Men's T20I Batting Rankings.

Esterhuizen was in fine touch during the recent tri-series against hosts Namibia and Zimbabwe, with the 25-year-old amassing 126 runs from five innings.

That included a superb innings of 88 against Namibia in the final group contest, with the hard-hitting opener gaining 65 spots to move to 25th overall on the list for T20I batters.

There was further joy for South Africa as youngster Lhuan-dre Pretorius also made big gains, with the 20-year-old improving 61 places to move to equal 43rd on the same list following his 226 runs from four knocks across the tri-series.

While Namibia failed to reach the tri-series decider, there were gains on the list for T20I batters for skipper Gerhard Erasmus (up 16 rungs to 55th) and opener Louren Steenkamp (up 32 slots to equal 73rd) following some decent knocks across the event.

The biggest eye-catcher on the list for T20I bowlers came from in-form Zimbabwe quick Brad Evans, with the right-armer improving four slots to equal 22nd after his 10 scalps at an average of just 15.80 during the tri-series.

Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza (up two places to 27th) also made gains in this category for T20I bowlers, while South Africa duo Kwena Maphaka (up 16 spots to equal 38th) and Bjorn Fortuin (up 37 slots to equal 78th) were rewarded for some good efforts with the ball across the tri-series.

And there is further plaudits forthcoming for Erasmus on the list for T20I all-rounders, with the Namibia skipper jumping four slots to eighth overall and reaching a new career-high rating following his 149 runs and five wickets during the home tri-series.