Published: Aug 08, 2016, 08:41 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 08, 2016, 08:41 PM (IST)
After the conclusion of Edgbaston Test by 141 runs, England’s James Anderson reclaims his No.1 spot in ICC Rankings for Test bowlers from India’s Ravichandran Ashwin as per the media release on Monday. Anderson had entered the Edgbaston Test trailing Ashwin by one point, but he has now opened up a 12-point gap over the India spinner. Anderson earned his spot with four wickets against third-ranker Pakistan that has provided him with six points in comparison to Ashwin’s six wickets against West Indies in their second Test at Jamaica. This is the second time in less than six weeks that Anderson has topped the bowling table. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2016, 3rd Test at Edgbaston
He had surged to the top of the chart for the first time in his career on 31 May after he took eight wickets in England’s nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test at Chester-le-Street, as per the reports of ICC. But the competition at the top of the table is so tight that the number-one ranking has thrice changed hands from Yasir Shah to Ashwin and back to Anderson. Australia’s Mitchell Starc, Sri Lanka’s Dilruwan Perera and Chris Woakes of England are the other bowlers to make impressive gains in the latest rankings. ALSO READ: ENG beat PAK by 141 runs on Day 5 of 3rd Test
Starc has already taken 11 wickets for which he has been rewarded with a jump of eight places. This now puts him in career-high rankings of seven, making him the highest-ranked Australia bowler after Josh Hazlewood slipped three places to 10th. Perera has vaulted 11 places to a career-best 16th position following his 10 wickets in Galle, making him the third Sri Lanka bowler inside the top 20 after Rangana Herath and Dhammika Prasad. Meanwhile, Woakes has continued to rule the rankings, who started the season at 87th position and now entered the top 20 with the help of five wickets that he grabbed during the Edgbaston Test. The players’ rankings will once again see a different scenario after the conclusion of final Sri Lanka and Australia series at Colombo.
