ICC Test Rankings | Virat Kohli holds onto second spot among batsmen
Virat Kohli has held on to his second spot in the newly released ICC Test rankings for batsmen, as Steve Smith consolidated his position at the top of the chart. Cheteshwar Pujara remains fourth after his poor run in West Indies, while Jasprit Bumrah is in third place among the bowlers.
With a 135-run victory at The Oval, England tied the Ashes series 2-2 and brought a glorious summer of cricket to a close. However, it was the Aussies that shared the spoils in the individual rankings.
Smith’s scores of 80 and 23 in the final Test helped him remain on 937 rating points, well ahead of the Indian skipper, who is on 903. Of the two, it was Kohli who held a comfortable lead ahead of either players taking it to the field, but Smith’s 774 runs from only seven innings have seen him gain an incredible 80 points in a single series. Following Kohli are New Zealand captain Kane Williamson on 878 points and India’s Cheteshwar Pujara on 825 points.
Australian Pat Cummins leads the line among bowlers after grabbing a series-high 29 wickets in the Ashes. Cummins too is well clear of (57 points ahead) second-placed Kagiso Rabada, while Bumrah broke into the top 10 and finished in third place after his brilliant showing with the ball against West Indies.
Among the other players in England, David Warner lost seven places to finish 24th after a miserable Ashes tour that started and ended on the same note. However, Matthew Wade gained 32 places to 78th among batsmen after he struck his fourth Test century yesterday, and Mitchell Marsh gained 20 places to reach 54th as the reward for his maiden five-wicket haul.
England’s Jofra Archer moved into the top 40 at the end of his debut Test series in which he picked up 22 wickets in four matches at 20.27. Left-arm seamer Sam Curran gained six slots to reach 65th position after some impressive showing with the old ball in the first innings. Jos Buttler’s scores of 70 and 47 have lifted him back into the top 30, while openers Rory Burns and Joe Denly sit on 56th and 57th positions respectively.