Rankings joy for Sri Lanka stars following memorable England Test triumph
Big gains for a host of Sri Lanka players on the latest Test rankings, as Australia's best white-ball performers make eye-catching ground on the T20I lists.
Six Sri Lankan players have obtained new career-high ratings on the latest ICC Men's Test Rankings following their upset Test victory over England at The Oval.
Sri Lanka produced their first Test win over England away from home in the third Test of their recently-completed series, with the likes of skipper Dhananjaya de Silva, middle-order performer Kamindu Mendis and opener Pathum Nissanka leading the way with the bat for the island nation.
👏 Player of the Match and captain in 2014 victory
— ICC (@ICC) September 10, 2024
🏏 Out in the middle during 2024 win
Angelo Mathews front and centre in Sri Lanka's last two Test triumphs in England 🤝
More on their #WTC25 victory 👉 https://t.co/nY7XEQHxqh pic.twitter.com/4bn5eaoXya
It was de Silva who top-scored for Sri Lanka in the first innings of the Test with a stylish 69 and that helped the right-hander obtain a new career-best rating and gain three places to move to 13th overall on the Test rankings for batters to now be the leading player on the list from his team.
Mendis and Nissanka also find new career-best ratings on the list for Test batters, with the former gaining six places to improve to 19th overall following a half-century of his own against England and the latter jumping a whopping 42 spots to 39th after an innings of 64 and 127*.
Pathum Nissanka played a blinder to guide Sri Lanka to a win 🌟#WTC25 | #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/4VSlPySzKm
— ICC (@ICC) September 9, 2024
England's Joe Root holds on to his spot as the No.1 ranked Test batter despite scores of just 13 and 12 at The Oval, although the right-hander does see his rating fall from 922 rating points to 899 and allows the likes of New Zealand duo Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell and Australia's Steve Smith to draw closer.
It's a similar story for England's Harry Brook, with the right-hander falling seven places to 12th after scores of 19 and three against Sri Lanka.
After a stellar #ENGvSL series with the bat, Joe Root insists there's more to come from him and England in #WTC25 👊
— ICC (@ICC) September 11, 2024
His outlook 👉 https://t.co/vcNKHDCAPU pic.twitter.com/wMY6m16EEO
It's not all bad news for England though, with stand-in skipper Ollie Pope gaining seven places and improving to equal 27th following a century in the first innings against Sri Lanka and keeper Jamie Smith jumps six spots to equal 30th after a quickfire half-century in the second innings.
There's more gains and further career-best ratings for a trio of Sri Lanka players on the latest Test bowler rankings, with Vishwa Fernando leading the way by gaining 13 spots to move to equal 31st following five wickets during the Test against England.
Teammates Lahiru Kumara (up 10 rungs to 32nd) and Milan Rathnayake (up 26 spots to equal 84th) also make some ground, while England quick Olly Stone (up 13 places to 74th) improves on the back of his three scalps in the first innings of the Test.
Player of the match highlights as Sri Lanka pacer Lahiru Kumara dismantled the England innings with three key wickets at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023
There is also some movement on the latest T20I rankings following Australia's series sweep over Scotland, with skipper Mitch Marsh (up two spots to equal 17th) and keeper Josh Inglis (up 28 places to 23rd) the biggest eye-catchers as they improve up the list for T20I batters.
Spinner Adam Zampa gains one place to move to seventh on the T20I rankings for bowlers, while Scotland will be buoyed by the vast improvement from Bradley Currie after he gained 20 spots to improve to 49th on the same list.