Fast bowlers lead the charge in Test rankings

Windies captain Jason Holder and Australia’s Pat Cummins led a charge of the fast brigade in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after their sides completed commanding victories over England and Sri Lanka, respectively.

Holder’s five wickets in the Antigua Test have lifted him four places to a career-best sixth position after the Windies scored an impressive 10-wicket win over England to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Holder, who last week became the first Windies player since ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sir Gary Sobers to top the list of Test all-rounders, added another feather to his cap by reaching a tally of 778 rating points, the highest by any Windies bowler since the retirement of Courtney Walsh in 2001.

The Player of the Match in Antigua though was Kemar Roach, who grabbed four wickets in each innings. He was rewarded with a jump of eight slots to 12^th position, just one place behind his compatriot Shannon Gabriel, who advanced one slot.

The presence of three Windies bowlers in the top 12 is reminiscent of the dominance of their pace bowlers in the past, and the best since they had four in the top 12 in mid-1996 – Curtley Ambrose (first), Courtney Walsh (fifth), Ian Bishop (seventh) and Kenny Benjamin (12^th).

Australia fast bowlers too have made a mark in the latest rankings update. Pat Cummins has reached a career-best second position after taking four wickets in the Canberra Test while new-ball bowler Mitchell Starc’s Player of the Match haul of 10 wickets has lifted him 10 places to 15^th position after the 366-run victory.

Other bowlers to improve in the latest rankings update include Moeen Ali of England (up two places to 28^th) and Marnus Labuschagne of Australia (up 20 places to a career-best 54^th).

In the rankings for batsmen, Usman Khawaja has gained three slots to reach 13^th position after an unbeaten 101 in the second innings while his teammate Travis Head has gained a whopping 23 slots to reach a career-best 20^th position after scores of 161 and 59 not out.

The Windies batsmen to advance include Kraigg Brathwaite (up one place to 33^rd), Shane Dowrich (up two places to 45^th), Shai Hope (up five places to 46^th) and Darren Bravo (up two places to 55^th) after his determined 50 in 342 minutes.