Wagner joins select group of New Zealand bowlers after Wellington Test

Neil Wagner has attained a career-best fifth position among bowlers in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after grabbing nine wickets in the Wellington Test and contributing in his team’s win over Bangladesh by an innings and 12 runs.

The 32-year-old left-arm fast bowler has not only gained six slots but also crossed the 800-point mark, becoming only the third bowler from his country to do so. He is now on 801 points, only Trent Boult (825) and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Richard Hadlee (909) have done better in terms of rating points. His teammate Tim Southee is another one to get close to the mark, having reached 799 points in June 2014.

Wagner is now the top ranked bowler from his side but Boult too has gained one slot to reach seventh position after taking seven wickets in the victory in Wellington, which wrapped a winning 2-0 lead in the three-Test series and ensured they stay second in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings after the series.

Ross Taylor has moved up 11 places to 13th position in the list for batsmen after his score of 200 while Henry Nicholls’s knock of 107 has lifted him two places to fifth position with a career-best tally of 778 rating points. Captain Kane Williamson remains their highest ranked batsman, at second position in the list led by India captain Virat Kohli.

For Bangladesh, Mahmudullah has reached a career-best 34th position, moving up six slots after scores of 13 and 67. Shadman Islam (up from 102nd to 98th) and Mohammad Mithun (up from 140th to 115th) have also moved up in the list for batsmen while fast bowler Abu Jayed has advanced 18 places to 77th position after taking three wickets in the match.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan host Ireland for a one-off Test in the northern Indian city of Dehradun from Friday, which will be the second Test for both teams. It will give the likes of captain William Porterfield (72nd among batsmen) and Tim Murtagh (67th among bowlers) of Ireland, and Afghanistan’s captain Asgar Afghan (130th among batsmen) and leg-spinner Rashid Khan (117th among bowlers) a chance to move up the rankings.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 13 March 2019, after the Wellington Test)

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank	(+/-)	Player	Team	Pts	Avge	Highest Rating
1	( - )	Virat Kohli	India	922	53.76	937 v Eng at Southampton 2018
2	( - )	K Williamson	NZ	913	53.38	915 v Ban at Hamilton 2019
3	( - )	C Pujara	India	881	51.18	888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
4	( - )	Steve Smith	Aus	857	61.37	947 v SA at Durban 2018
5	(+2)	Henry Nicholls	NZ	778*!	45.75	778 v Ban at Wellington 2019
6	(-1)	Joe Root	Eng	763	49.51	917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
7	(-1)	David Warner	Aus	756	48.2	880 v NZ at Perth 2015
8	( - )	Aiden Markram	SA	719*	43.8	759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
9	( - )	Q de Kock	SA	718	39.31	802 v NZ at Hamilton 2017
10	( - )	Faf du Plessis	SA	702	42.95	734 v India at Centurion 2018

Other selected rankings

Rank	(+/-)	Player	Team	Pts	Avge	Highest Rating
13=	(+11)	Ross Taylor	NZ	676	46.71	871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
34	(+6)	Mahmudullah	Ban	574!	33.18	574 v NZ at Wellington 2019
98	(+4)	Shadman Islam	Ban	341*	38.6	396 v WI at Dhaka 2018
115	(+25)	M Mithun	Ban	236*!	21.22	236 v NZ at Wellington 2019

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank	(+/-)	Player	Team	Pts	Avge	Highest Rating
1	( - )	Pat Cummins	Aus	878*!	22.02	878 v SL at Canberra 2019
2	( - )	J Anderson	Eng	862	26.93	903 v India at Lord's 2018
3	( - )	K Rabada	SA	851	21.77	902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018
4	( - )	V Philander	SA	813	21.64	912 v India at Johannesburg 2013
5	(+6)	Neil Wagner	NZ	801!	27.51	801 v Ban at Wellington 2019
6	(-1)	R Jadeja	India	794	23.68	899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
7	(+1)	Trent Boult	NZ	787	27.54	825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
8=	(-2)	Jason Holder	WI	770*	27.69	778 v Eng at Antigua 2019
8=	(-2)	M Abbas	Pak	770*	18.86	838 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2018
10	( - )	R Ashwin	India	763	25.43	904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016

Other selected rankings

Rank	(+/-)	Player	Team	Pts	Avge	Highest Rating
77	(+18)	Abu Jayed	Ban	180*	39.36	207 v WI at Jamaica 2018

All-rounders (top five)

Rank	(+/-)	Player	Team	Pts	Highest Rating
1	( - )	Jason Holder	WI	439/*	448 v Eng at Antigua 2019
2	( - )	S Al Hasan	Ban	399	489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
3	( - )	R Jadeja	India	387	438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
4	( - )	Ben Stokes	Eng	357	395 v WI at Lord's 2017
5	( - )	V Philander	SA	326	377 v SL at Galle 2018

*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.

Wagner joins select group of New Zealand bowlers after Wellington Test

Neil Wagner has attained a career-best fifth position among bowlers in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after grabbing nine wickets in the Wellington Test and contributing in his team’s win over Bangladesh by an innings and 12 runs.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 13 March 2019, after the Wellington Test)

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Wagner joins select group of New Zealand bowlers after Wellington Test

Neil Wagner has attained a career-best fifth position among bowlers in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after grabbing nine wickets in the Wellington Test and contributing in his team’s win over Bangladesh by an innings and 12 runs.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 13 March 2019, after the Wellington Test)

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