ICC: Williamson sets new Test Rankings high for a New Zealand player

Photo Credit: BCCI

Captain Kane Williamson’s epic 238 in the second Test against Pakistan in Christchurch has helped him reach the best ever-rating points by a New Zealand player while consolidating his position at the top of the list of batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings.

WILLIAMSON SETS NEW TEST RANKINGS HIGH FOR A NEW ZEALAND PLAYER

• Smith gets past Kohli to second position; Pujara, Pant, Vihari and Ashwin move up after memorable fighting knocks in Sydney Test
• Azhar, Elgar, Jamieson and Hazlewood among others to gain after Tuesday’s update that includes performances in Christchurch and Johannesburg

Captain Kane Williamson’s epic 238 in the second Test against Pakistan in Christchurch has helped him reach the best ever-rating points by a New Zealand player while consolidating his position at the top of the list of batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings.

Williamson, named player of the series after leading his side to an innings and 176 runs win and a 2-0 victory in the two-Test series, has reached 919 rating points, bettering his own mark of 915 in December 2018. ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Richard Hadlee is the only other player from New Zealand to go past the 900-point mark, reaching a career-high 909 rating points in bowling in December 1985.

In the latest rankings update that includes the second Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Johannesburg and the third Test between Australia and India in Sydney, Steve Smith has leapfrogged Virat Kohli to second position after scores of 131 and 81 while Dean Elgar has moved to 13^th position with knocks of 127 and 31 not out.

In other movement for New Zealand players, Henry Nicholls has gained three places to reach ninth among batsmen after his knock of 157 while fast bowler Kyle Jamieson’s match haul of 11-117 has lifted him seven places to a career-best 21^st place. With 36 Test wickets so far, Jamieson is also fifth among all-rounders after only six Tests.

Azhar Ali’s knocks of 93 and 37 have helped him advance him seven places to 18^th position and his compatriot Mohammad Rizwan’s first-innings half-century has helped him gain 10 places to reach 37^th position.

The drawn Sydney Test saw Marnus Labuschagne consolidate the fourth position with a career-best 866 rating points after scores of 91 and 73 while fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has gained three places to reach fifth position with four wickets in the match.

For India, Cheteshwar Pujara’s knocks of 50 and 77 have taken him from 10^th to eighth position and Rishabh Pant’s scores of 36 and 97 have helped him gain 19 places to reach 26^th position. Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin too have gained after their fighting knocks, as has Shubman Gill.

The Centurion Test saw Anrich Nortje (up 10 places to 38^th), Wiaan Mulder (up 22 places to 45^th), Lutho Sipamla (up 23 places to 47^th) and Lungi Ngidi (up seven places to 49^th) make huge gains among bowlers while for Sri Lanka, captain Dimuth Karunaratne (up two places to 15^th) and Kusal Perera (up four places to 56^th) have moved up in the list of batsmen.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 12 January 2021, after the Christchurch, Johannesburg and Sydney Tests):

Batsmen (top 10)

Other selected rankings

Bowlers (top 10)

Other selected rankings

  All-rounders (top five)

*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. 

ICC