New Zealand bowlers are marching up the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after the side’s historic series’ win against the West Indies in Bridgetown on Monday. New Zealand won the third Test by 53 runs to claim its first away series triumph against a top-eight team in 12 years.
Spearheading the charge up the rankings are Trent Boult, Mark Craig, and Tim Southee, who all claimed three victims apiece in the second innings to stop the host in its tracks, after New Zealand set the West Indies a target of 308 on the last day of the match.
As a result, paceman Trent Boult, who’s ability to move the ball both ways has made him a mainstay in the New Zealand side, has broken into the top ten on the rankings table. He has climbed two spots to bag ninth position after returning match figures of two for 71 and three for 28. He becomes the second New Zealander in the top ten, joining Tim Southee, who demolished the West Indies middle order in the second innings, claiming three victims for just 28 runs, thereby retaining sixth spot.
Mark Craig has proved himself to be an able replacement for Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel, taking a total of four wickets for 174 runs in the match to leap seven spots to claim 71st position on the rankings table.
Neil Wagner’s four for 64 and one for 50 has helped him achieve his career-best ranking to date, with the left-hander jumping six places to land just outside the top 20 at number 22.
West Indies will take consolation from the fact that Kemar Roach has been rewarded for his match haul of eight wickets for 116 runs with a career-best ranking of 10th. Roach has jumped five places and now shares the position and the same ratings points as Australia’s Peter Siddle.
West Indies’ debutant Jason Holder has entered the rankings table for the first time in 96th position, while Jimmy Neesham has broken into the top 100 for the first time, jumping up 10 places to land on 97.
Jimmy Neesham is also seen heading in the right direction in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen. Having made 78 runs in the first innings and following it up with 51 in the second, Neesham has shown the most improvement on the batting table. He has climbed 17 places to achieve his career best ranking to date, and now sits in 43rd position.
New Zealand’s centurion Kane Williamson has been rewarded for his 161 not out in the second innings with a jump of five places to claim 14th spot.
Also making positive moves in the batting rankings are West Indies’ Kirk Edwards in 58th (up by four) and Kraigg Brathwaite in 62nd (up by seven).
Meanwhile, the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings Table has shown no movement. Australia remains top-ranked with 123 ratings points, with South Africa a close second. However, with England and India locking horns in a Test series beginning 9 July, and Sri Lanka playing against South Africa from 16 July, some movement is likely in the coming weeks.
A 5-0 clean sweep by either fifth-ranked England or fourth-ranked India could see either team leap into third position, while a loss by that margin could see them drop as low as seventh. For South Africa, a 2-0 series’ win could see the side topple Australia from the top of the perch to regain the number one position, while a clean sweep for Sri Lanka could see the side move as high as fourth in the Test rankings.
Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings table (as on 30 June, after the West Indies v New Zealand series)
Rank (+/-) Team Rating (+/-)
1 Australia 123
2 South Africa 123
3 Pakistan 103
4 India 102
5 England 100
6 Sri Lanka 96
7 New Zealand 93
8 West Indies 74
9 Zimbabwe 40
10 Bangladesh 21
(Developed by David Kendix)
Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Tests (as on 30 June, after Bridgetown Test):
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 922 51.94 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
2 ( - ) K Sangakkara SL 896 58.63 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
3 (+1) Hashim Amla SA 873 51.35 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
4 (+1) David Warner Aus 871! 46.54 871 v SA at Cape Town 2014
5 (-2) S.Chanderpaul WI 854 51.88 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
6 ( - ) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 824! 48.75 824 v SL at Sharjah 2014
7 ( - ) C Pujara Ind 819* 58.92 851 v SA at Durban 2013
8 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 818 51.50 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
9 (-1) Ross Taylor NZ 795 46.43 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
10 ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 784! 46.51 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014
11 ( - ) A Mathews SL 761! 48.40 761 v Eng at Headingley 2014
12 ( - ) Younus Khan Pak 759 51.38 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
13 ( - ) Steven Smith Aus 737*! 40.02 737 v SA at Cape Town 2014
14 (+5) K Williamson NZ 728! 40.28 728 v WI at Bridgetown 2014
15 (-1) M Jayawardena SL 696 50.18 883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
16 (-1) Chris Rogers Aus 675* 38.14 694 v Eng at Sydney 2014
17 ( - ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 661 47.28 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
18 ( - ) Ian Bell Eng 657 45.12 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
19 (-3) B McCullum NZ 651 37.10 724 v Ind at Wellington 2014
20 (+1) Faf du Plessis SA 636*! 52.42 636 v Aus at Cape Town 2014