Mitchell Starc claims No. 1 spot in ICC Test rankings for first time

Australia pacer Mitchell Starc has become the No. 1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings for the first time after his 10-wicket haul against Bangladesh. Jasprit Bumrah slipped from the top spot, while several Indian and international players made significant gains

Dubai: Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has attained the No. 1 position in the ICC Test rankings for the first time in his career after his 10-wicket haul in MacKay helped win the second match of their ICC World Test Championship series against Bangladesh.

The 36-year-old left-armer grabbed six for 12 and four for 39 to star in the innings and 51 runs victory, overtaking Matt Henry and Jasprit Bumrah, whom he leads by 10 rating points.

---

Starc, whose previous best position was second that he first achieved after the Boxing Day Test last year, was named the Player of the Match and the Player of the Series.

Bumrah’s latest reign at the top lasted just two months but he has a combined 697 days as number one, which is the most by an India bowler and the 14th-most ever. He was ruled out of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka due to an injury.

England seam bowler Ollie Robinson is another major gainer, his hauls of five for 51 and three for 39 helping him win the Player of the Match award in an innings and 103 runs victory over Pakistan in the first of three Tests in Leeds and lifted him 15 spots to 11th among bowlers.

Josh Tongue, who also grabbed eight wickets at Headingley, has progressed 16 places to 17th. India’s left-arm spinner Manav Suthar has risen 28 places to a career-best 48th after taking 10 wickets in India’s 165-run win over Sri Lanka in the first Test in Galle.

Sri Lanka bowlers Asitha Fernando and Prabath Jayasuriya have both moved up five places to 15th and 16th, respectively.

Spinners Nathan Lyon of Australia (up two places to 10th) and Ali Usman of Pakistan (up 30 places to 67th), along with fast bowlers Jofra Archer of England (up six places to joint-38th), M. Prasidh Krishna of India (up two places to 53rd) and Shoriful Islam of Bangladesh (up 17 places to 57th), have made significant gains.

The batting rankings see Harry Brook double his lead at the top to 24 rating points above team-mate Joe Root. Brook top-scored with 90 and Root made 66 to keep the top two positions even as India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant returns to the top 10 for the first time in a year after scores of 39 and 66, moving up six places to seventh.

Australia’s Cameron Green (up nine places to 21st), Sri Lanka’s Dhananjaya de Silva (up two places to 22nd) and Sonal Dinusha (up 49 places to 54th), Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique (up seven places to joint-27th), India’s K.L. Rahul (up five places to 30th) and Devdutt Padikkal (re-entered at 59th) are others to prosper in the batting rankings.