Boult, Morkel Move Up After Nine-Wicket Match Hauls
©REUTERS/David Gray
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Boult, Morkel Move Up After Nine-Wicket Match Hauls
Fast bowlers Trent Boult and Morne Morkel have made significant gains in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after their player of the match efforts in the Auckland and Cape Town Tests, respectively.
New Zealand’s new-ball bowler Boult has moved up five slots to seventh position after his match haul of nine for 99 helped defeat England by an innings and 49 runs to go 1-0 up in their two-match series. The left-arm bowler took six wickets as England were dismissed for only 58 runs in the first innings in Auckland, their sixth-lowest total ever.
Morkel has similarly moved up five places to take sixth position, grabbing nine for 110 to help South Africa defeat Australia by 322 runs and take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series. Morkel has risen to 798 points, his best ever rating points tally with just one Test to go for retirement. Morkel’s highest ever ranking position was third in November 2010.
There is no change among the top five bowlers but Australia pace bowler Pat Cummins is another one to move up, his seven wickets in Cape Town taking him to 18th position, the first time he has made it to the top 20.
South Africa openers Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram have both attained career-best rankings. Elgar’s first innings score of 141 not out, when he carried the bat for a record-equaling third time in Tests, has lifted him to eighth position while Markram’s second innings score of 84 has helped him gain seven slots and reach 15th place.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (up one place to third) and middle-order batsman Henry Nicholls (up 22 places to 32nd), South Africa’s Quinton de Kock (up five places to 19th) and Australia opener Cameron Bancroft (up 22 places to 56th) are among the others to move up in the latest rankings.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 27 March, after the Auckland and Cape Town Tests):
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 938 61.37 947 v SA at Durban 2018
2 ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 912! 53.40 912 v SA at Johannesburg 2018
3 (+1) Kane Williamson NZ 878 51.11 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
4 (-1) Joe Root Eng 870 52.77 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
5 ( - ) David Warner Aus 828 48.20 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
6 (+1) AB de Villiers SA 819 50.81 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
7 (-1) C. Pujara Ind 810 50.51 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
8 (+5) Dean Elgar SA 772! 42.38 772 v Aus at Cape Town 2018
9 (-1) Azhar Ali Pak 755 46.62 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016
10 (-1) Hashim Amla SA 745 48.31 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
15 (+7) Aiden Markram SA 688*! 50.68 688 v Aus at Cape Town 2018
19 (+5) Quinton de Kock SA 653 38.91 802 v NZ at Hamilton 2017
32 (+22) Henry Nicholls NZ 610*! 38.04 610 v Eng at Auckland 2018
56 (+22) C. Bancroft Aus 483*! 30.92 483 v SA at Cape Town 2018
61 (+5) Tim Paine Aus 461*! 41.66 461 v SA at Cape Town 2018
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Kagiso Rabada SA 899 21.56 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018
2 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 887 27.41 896 v Win at Lord's 2017
3 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 844 23.73 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
4 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 803 25.56 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
5 ( - ) Josh Hazlewood Aus 802 26.00 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017
6 (+5) Morne Morkel SA 798! 27.73 798 v Aus at Cape Town 2018
7 (+5) Trent Boult NZ 792 27.80 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
8 (-2) Neil Wagner NZ 781 27.82 785 v Win at Wellington 2017
9= (-2) Rangana Herath SL 777 28.18 867 v Zim at Harare 2016
(-1) Vernon Philander SA 777 22.18 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
16 (+1) Tim Southee NZ 695 31.23 799 v Win at Jamaica 2014
18 (+5) Pat Cummins Aus 683*! 25.10 683 v SA at Cape Town 2018
All-rounders (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 421 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
2 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 391 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
3 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 368 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016
4 ( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 349/* 396 v Win at Lord's 2017
5 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 336 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
*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.
