Taylor, Fakhar achieve career-high rankings

 
November 14, 2018

DUBAI: New Zealand’s Ross Taylor has warmed-up for the upcoming three-Test series against Pakistan by achieving a career-high position in the latest ICC men’s player rankings for ODI batsmen, which were released by ICC on Tuesday morning.

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The 34-year-old middle-order batsman had started the series in sixth position, but after scores of 80 and 86 not out, he has leapfrogged Joe Root, Babar Azam and David Warner to third position. This is his career-best ranking, which has come after 207 ODIs in which he has scored 7,433 runs. The former captain had earlier reached fifth place this June.

Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman is the other batsman to achieve a career-best ranking to date from the series in the UAE, which ended at one-all after the decider in Dubai was washed-out.

The left-handed opener had scores of one, 88 and 65, which have lifted him six places to 11th in the latest rankings. The 28-year-old, however, will not be part of the Test squad.

Similarly, Shadab Khan has achieved a career-high bowling ranking but will not feature in the upcoming Tests. The wrist spinner bagged six wickets in the series, including four for 38 in the second match, to vault 16 places to 24th position.

The other bowler to make an impact in the ODIs and one to look out for in the Tests is Lachlan Ferguson. The New Zealand fast bowler had figures of three for 40, three for 60 and five for 45 during the series, which also reflect in the latest rankings, in which he has rocketed 31 places to 42nd.

Shaheen Afridi, who took nine wickets in the series and won the player of the series award, has risen 66 places to sit just outside the top-100 in 118th position.

However, Trent Boult and Hasan Ali have been unable to either defend or improve their rankings.

Boult had made a dream start to his season when he took a hat-trick in only his second over. However, he managed to add just one more wicket to his tally and consequently finished in seventh position after starting in fourth place.

Hasan, who had started the year with a number one ranking, has continued to slide. After falling three places following his four wickets, he is now ranked 13th, but remains his side’s highest-ranked bowler.

Down Under, South Africa defeated Australia 2-1 in a three-match series, with the series-decider in Hobart producing scintillating centuries from Faf du Plessis, David Miller and Shaun Marsh.

Virat Kohli is the number-one ranked ODI batsman, while Jasprit Bumrah is the top-ranked bowler. Rashid Khan is the leading all-rounder.

ODI team rankings: 1. England 126 points; 2. India 121; 3. New Zealand 112; 4. South Africa 111; 5. Pakistan 102; 6. Australia 100; 7. Bangladesh 93; 8. Sri Lanka 79; 9. West Indies 72; 10. Afghanistan 67.

Top batsmen: 1 Virat Kohli (Ind) 899 points; 2. Rohit Sharma (Ind) 871; 3. Ross Taylor (NZ) 808; 4. Joe Root (Eng) 807; 5. Babar Azam (Pak) 802; 6. David Warner (Aus) 791; 7. Faf du Plessis (SA) 785; 8. Shikhar Dhawan (Ind) 767; 9. Kane Williamson (NZ) 756; 10. Quinton de Kock (SA) 754; 11. Fakhar Zaman (Pak) 729.

Top bowlers: 1. Jasprit Bumrah (Ind) 841 points; 2. Rashid Khan (Afg) 788; 3. Kuldeep Yadav (Ind) 723; 4. Kagiso Rabada (SA) 702; 5. Y. Chahal (Ind) 683; 6. Adil Rashid (Eng) 683; 7. Trent Boult (NZ) 682; 8. M Rahman (Afg) 679; 9. Josh Hazlewood (Aus) 675; 10. M Rahman (Ban) 671; 13. Hasan Ali (Pak) 646.

All-rounders (top five): 1. Rashid Khan (Afg) 353 points; 2. Mohammad Nabi (Afg) 337; 3. Shakib Al Hasan (Ban) 332; 4. Mohammad Hafeez (Pak) 311; 5. Mitchell Santner (NZ) 308.

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