Watson finishes as No.1 T20 all-rounder

DUBAI: The outgoing all rounder has signed off in style from international cricket after the latest ICC player rankings.

Shane Watson has finished his international career as the No.1 ranked T20 all-rounder in the world according to the International Cricket Council’s player rankings announced on Tuesday.

With strong performances with both and ball in the World T20, Watson retained his spot at the top of the all-rounder rankings with 373 points ahead of Bangladeshi Shakib Al Hasan (346 points) and Pakistan T20 captain Shahid Afridi (332).

Watson announced mid-tournament that this World Twenty20 would be his last appearance in Australian colours and was influential in his final tournament.

After solid performances in his preferred opening position for Australia’s first two World T20 matches, Watson was moved to the unfamiliar spot of six for their last two games but demonstrated his versatility smashing a crucial 44 off 21 against Pakistan and then 18 off 16 against India.

He was also vital with the ball, picking up five wickets for the tournament and was the pick of Australia’s bowlers in their loss to India, finishing with 2-23 off four miserly overs.

Glenn Maxwell has moved up three spots to be the fourth ranked T20 all-rounder while David Warner has slipped out of top 10 in the batting rankings to be 14th.

Aaron Finch, who was left out of Australia’s side for their first two group matches, has fallen off top perch in the ICC T20 batting rankings as India superstar Virat Kohli, fresh off his match winning innings to knock Australia out of the World T20, claims top spot.

Watson moved up three places to 10th in the batting rankings and is the only other Australian in the top 10.

Fellow all-rounder James Faulkner has stormed into the top 10 in the bowling rankings rising 28 spots to eighth position while West Indian leg-spinner Samuel Badree remains the No.1 ranked T20 bowler in the world.
Badree has led the West Indian bowling attack in the World T20 having picked up six wickets so far and gone at just 5.46 runs per over while Faulkner was Australia’s leading wicket taker at the tournament.

Despite a disappointing group stage exit, Australia have gone from eighth to sixth in the T20 team rankings as Pakistan and Sri Lanka slip to seventh and eighth, respectively.

India remain the top T20 side in the world followed by fellow World T20 semi-finalists New Zealand in second and the West Indies in third.