Buttler attains career-best rating points, Azhar Ali makes notable gain in update carried out after England-Pakistan Test series
England batsman Zak Crawley’s massive 267 and fast bowler James Anderson’s match haul of seven wickets see the duo shoot up in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings after the drawn final Test against Pakistan in Southampton.
Crawley has ascended 53 spots to reach a career-best 28th position after recording the 10th highest individual score for England and their second highest maiden Test century. He had started the series in 95th position but his 320-run aggregate has made him the fourth best ranked England batsman after only eight Tests, behind Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Jos Buttler.
Anderson has moved back to the top-10 after briefly dropping out of it since the preceding home series against the West Indies. The formerly top-ranked bowler has gained six spots to reach eighth position after a Test that saw him grab his 29th five-wicket haul in the first innings and become the first fast bowler to 600 wickets with Azhar Ali’s scalp in the second innings.
Buttler is another England player to make notable progress in the latest rankings update after scoring a fine 152 in his side’s only innings of the Test. He has reached a career-best 637 rating points and 21st position, three off his best of 18th achieved in November 2018.
All-rounder Ben Stokes has ceded the top spot for all-rounders to Jason Holder after missing two Test matches, dropping one point behind the West Indies captain. For each Test missed, players lose one per cent each of their batting and bowling points with a cumulative effect of about two per cent on a player’s all-round rating.
For Pakistan, captain Azhar’s return to form with a solid 141 in the first innings has seen him gain 11 places and reach 23rd position, while wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan has gained three slots to reach 72nd position after a fighting half-century in the first innings.
Part-time spinners Fawad Alam and Asad Shafiq are in the top 100 for bowlers. Fawad has gained 22 slots to reach 94th position while Asad has moved up nine places to 100th place.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 26 August, after the England-Pakistan series)
Batsmen (top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Steve Smith | Aus | 911 | 62.84 | 947 v SA at Durban 2018 |
| 2 | ( – ) | Virat Kohli | India | 886 | 53.62 | 937 v Eng at Southampton 2018 |
| 3 | ( – ) | M Labuschagne | Aus | 827*! | 63.43 | 827 v NZ at Sydney 2020 |
| 4 | ( – ) | K Williamson | NZ | 812 | 50.99 | 915 v Ban at Hamilton 2019 |
| 5 | ( – ) | Babar Azam | Pak | 797 | 45.44 | 800 v Ban at Rawalpindi 2020 |
| 6 | ( – ) | David Warner | Aus | 793 | 48.94 | 880 v NZ at Perth 2015 |
| 7 | (+1) | C Pujara | India | 766 | 48.66 | 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017 |
| 8 | (-1) | Ben Stokes | Eng | 760 | 37.84 | 827 v WI at Old Trafford 2020 |
| 9 | ( – ) | Joe Root | Eng | 738 | 47.99 | 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015 |
| 10 | ( – ) | A Rahane | India | 726 | 42.88 | 825 v NZ at Indore 2016 |
Other selected rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 21 | (+9) | Jos Buttler | Eng | 637! | 33.90 | 637 v Pak at Southampton 2020 |
| 23 | (+11) | Azhar Ali | Pak | 627 | 42.86 | 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016 |
| 28 | (+53) | Zak Crawley | Eng | 605*! | 48.41 | 605 v Pak at Southampton 2020 |
| 72 | (+3) | M Rizwan | Pak | 444*! | 35.09 | 444 v Eng at Southampton 2020 |
Bowlers (top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Pat Cummins | Aus | 904 | 21.82 | 914 v Eng at Old Trafford 2019 |
| 2 | ( – ) | Stuart Broad | Eng | 845 | 27.65 | 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016 |
| 3 | ( – ) | Neil Wagner | NZ | 843 | 26.60 | 859 v Aus at Melbourne 2019 |
| 4 | ( – ) | Tim Southee | NZ | 812! | 29.00 | 812 v India at Christchurch 2020 |
| 5 | ( – ) | Jason Holder | WI | 810 | 26.69 | 862 v Eng at Southampton 2020 |
| 6 | ( – ) | Kagiso Rabada | SA | 802 | 22.95 | 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018 |
| 7 | ( – ) | Mitchell Starc | Aus | 797 | 26.97 | 807 v NZ at Perth 2019 |
| 8 | (+6) | J Anderson | Eng | 781 | 26.79 | 903 v India at Lord’s 2018 |
| 9 | ( – ) | Jasprit Bumrah | India | 779* | 20.33 | 834 v WI at Jamaica 2019 |
| 10 | ( – ) | Trent Boult | NZ | 770 | 27.65 | 825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015 |
Other selected rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 94 | (+22) | Fawad Alam | Pak | 73*! | 23.00 | 73 v Eng at Southampton 2020 |
| 100= | (+9) | Asad Shafiq | Pak | 30*! | 65.33 | 30 v Eng at Southampton 2020 |
All-rounders (top five)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Highest Rating |
| 1 | (+1) | Jason Holder | WI | 447 | 485 v Eng at Southampton 2020 |
| 2 | (-1) | Ben Stokes | Eng | 446 | 497 v WI at Old Trafford 2020 |
| 3 | ( – ) | R Jadeja | India | 397 | 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017 |
| 4 | ( – ) | Mitchell Starc | Aus | 298 | 346 v India at Pune 2017 |
| 5 | ( – ) | R Ashwin | India | 281 | 492 v Eng at Mohali 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.
