AB de Villiers regains No 1 Test batting ranking
South Africa’s AB de Villiers has overtaken teammate Hashim Amla at the top of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen to regain the number-one spot that he last held in April 2012 in the latest Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Tests, which were released on Sunday.
The latest rankings were released after South Africa beat Pakistan by an innings and 92 runs in the second and final Test in Dubai on Saturday to level the series 1-1.
De Villiers, who came into the Dubai Test on 882 ratings points, earned 27 ratings points for his knock of 164 to finish at a career-best 909 to thereby become only the 28th batsman in the history of the game to break the 900-rating points barrier, a benchmark for top batsmen.
In so doing, de Villiers also became only the fifth South Africa batsman to achieve the rare distinction as he reclaimed his position at the top of the batting table. Dudley Nourse, Graeme Pollock, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla are the other South Africa batsmen to break the 900-point barrier.
De Villiers, who finished as the Player of the Series with 273 runs, is now 24th in the all-time batting ratings list.
Amla, who did not play in the Dubai Test, has now dropped to second place on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen. Amla had been on top of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen since February 2013, when he overtook Australia captain Michael Clarke.
Player of the match in the Dubai Test and South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who scored 234 and shared a record 338-run fifth wicket stand with de Villiers, has jumped seven places to eighth to return to the top 10 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen for the first time since August 2012.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has also moved up the rankings, advancing one place to a career-best sixth as he continued his consistency with the bat, scoring a fighting 88 in the second innings of the Dubai Test.
Pakistan’s Asad Shafiq has jumped eight places to 17th to return to the top 20 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen following his second innings knock of 130 in the Dubai Test.
The latest rankings also reflect the drawn Mirpur Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand, which resulted in a drawn series 0-0.
Outside the top 20 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, Bangladesh batsmen Tamim Iqbal in 31st(up by nine) and Mominul Haque in 32nd (up by 17) are the others to make an upwards move, along with South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis in 44th (up by one) and New Zealand’s BJ Watling in 50th (up by 11).
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, there is no change in the top 10. South Africa’s Dale Steyn continues to head the table with teammate Vernon Philander in second position, while Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath and Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal are in third and fourth place, respectively.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan has moved up one place to 16th.
Outside the top 20 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, New Zealand’s Neil Wagner is now in 45th (up by 15), while South Africa’s Imran Tahir was rewarded for match figures of five for 32 and three for 98 in the Dubai Test with a jump of 24 places to a career-best 57th.
Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 27 October, after the Mirpur and Dubai Tests)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 (+1) AB de Villiers SA 909! 51.44 909 v Pak at Dubai 2013
2 (-1) Hashim Amla SA 898 52.32 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
3 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 880 51.81 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
4 ( - ) K Sangakkara SL 866 56.98 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
5 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 853 52.08 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
6 (+1) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 783! 46.03 783 v SA at Dubai 2013
7 (+1) C Pujara Ind 777*! 65.55 777 v Aus at Delhi 2013
8 (+7) Graeme Smith SA 771 49.36 843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010
9 (-3) Younus Khan Pak 769 51.17 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
10 (-1) Ian Bell Eng 748 46.66 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
11 (-1) Alastair Cook Eng 737 47.85 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
12 (-1) Ross Taylor NZ 721 42.81 785 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
13 ( - ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 706 48.38 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
14 (-2) Jacques Kallis SA 704 55.44 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
15 (-1) Jonathan Trott Eng 698 47.39 856 v SL at Cardiff 2011
16 ( - ) Marlon Samuels WI 663 37.39 672 v Zim at Bridgetown 2013
17 (+8) Asad Shafiq Pak 660* 39.11 680 v SA at Cape Town 2013
18 (-1) Matt Prior Eng 647 42.36 745 v NZ at Auckland 2013
19 (-1) M Jayawardena SL 639 49.56 883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
20= (-1) Chris Gayle WI 637 42.45 755 v SL at Galle 2010
(-1) MS Dhoni Ind 637 39.70 662 v SA at Kolkata 2010
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
25 (-4) Azhar Ali Pak 619 38.53 753 v SL at Pallekele 2012
27 ( - ) Kane Williamson NZ 605! 34.78 605 v Ban at Mirpur 2013
30 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 590 36.92 603 v WI at Khulna 2012
31 (+9) Tamim Iqbal Ban 588 38.29 707 v Eng at Old Trafford 2010
32 (+17) Mominul Haque Ban 584*! 83.42 584 v NZ at Mirpur 2013
36 (-3) B McCullum NZ 569 34.98 673 v Pak at Hamilton 2011
38 (-3) Mushfiqur Rahim Ban 564 32.46 584 v Eng at Chittagong 2010
42 (-1) Nasir Hossain Ban 541* 45.21 550 v NZ at Chittagong 2013
44 (+1) Faf du Plessis SA 524* 58.50 585 v Pak at Cape Town 2013
50 (+11) BJ Watling NZ 469*! 34.58 469 v Ban at Mirpur 2013
52 (-2) Dean Brownlie NZ 466* 29.62 504 v Eng at Auckland 2013
60 (-2) JP Duminy SA 435* 35.54 466 v Aus at Brisbane 2012
63 (-11) K Manzoor Pak 427* 31.42 467 v SA at Abu Dhabi 2013
65 (-1) Martin Guptill NZ 423 29.62 597 v WI at Kingston 2012
69 (-1) Peter Fulton NZ 403* 31.22 413 v Eng at Auckland 2013
77 (-5) H Rutherford NZ 380* 33.91 454 v Eng at Wellington 2013
85 (-7) Adnan Akmal Pak 347* 25.43 377 v Zim at Harare 2013
97 (-2) Vernon Philander SA 315* 20.26 350 v Pak at Centurion 2013
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 903 22.65 908 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013
2 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 899* 17.50 901 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
3 ( - ) Rangana Herath SL 831 29.52 838 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012
4 ( - ) Saeed Ajmal Pak 824 26.54 855 v Zim at Harare 2013
5 ( - ) Ryan Harris Aus 782*! 22.26 782 v Eng at The Oval 2013
6= ( - ) Graeme Swann Eng 760 28.55 858 v Pak at Lord's 2010
( - ) Peter Siddle Aus 760 29.11 816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013
8 ( - ) R Ashwin Ind 757*! 28.53 757 v Aus at Delhi 2013
9 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 741 30.10 813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
10 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 740 30.58 783 v WI at Lord's 2012
11 (+2) Pragyan Ojha Ind 706 31.78 773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012
12 ( - ) Abdur Rehman Pak 703* 27.55 739 v Eng at Dubai 2012
13 (-2) Morne Morkel SA 700 30.23 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
14 ( - ) Kemar Roach WI 682* 27.71 712 v NZ at Kingston 2012
15 ( - ) Ben Hilfenhaus Aus 659* 28.50 757 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2012
16 (+1) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 614 32.60 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011
17 (-1) Zaheer Khan Ind 600 32.35 752 v SA at Durban 2010
18 ( - ) Tim Southee NZ 585* 34.33 621 v Eng at Lord's 2013
19 ( - ) Steven Finn Eng 580* 29.40 624 v NZ at Headingley 2013
20 ( - ) Nathan Lyon Aus 576* 33.23 591 v Eng at Chester-le-St 2013
**** Selected Rankings
**** Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
26 (-5) Trent Boult NZ 518* 30.82 558 v Ban at Chittagong 2013
33 (-11) Junaid Khan Pak 496* 29.19 554 v SA at Abu Dhabi 2013
34 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 471 32.61 742 v Eng at Headingley 2003
40 (-4) Sohag Gazi Ban 423* 35.32 459 v NZ at Chittagong 2013
44 (-3) Doug Bracewell NZ 395* 36.26 538 v WI at Kingston 2012
45 (+15) Neil Wagner NZ 379*! 36.00 379 v Ban at Mirpur 2013
57 (+24) Imran Tahir SA 312*! 42.20 312 v Pak at Dubai 2013
77 (+19) Mohammad Irfan Pak 233*! 38.90 233 v SA at Dubai 2013
81 (+8) JP Duminy SA 213* 37.94 302 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010
92 (+3) Abdur Razzak Ban 169*! 67.30 169 v NZ at Mirpur 2013
95 (-3) Rubel Hossain Ban 155* 78.00 161 v Zim at Harare 2013
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Rating
1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 362 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
2 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 332 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
3 ( - ) R Ashwin Ind 321*/* 333 v Aus at Hyderabad 2013
4 (+1) Stuart Broad Eng 288 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
5 (-1) Vernon Philander SA 283*/* 312 v Pak at Centurion 2013
*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
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