Azhar Ali reaches career-best ranking (6th), top-ranked Steve Smith finishes year on a high

[Saj]

Pakistan opener Azhar Ali has moved up 10 places to reach a career-high sixth rank in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen even as top-ranked Steve Smith has finished the year-end rankings with a personal best in terms of rating points.

Azhar’s scores of 205 not out and 43 in the second Test against Australia in Melbourne, which ended on Friday, could not prevent Pakistan from going 2-0 down in the three-Test series with an innings and 18 runs loss, but was a culmination of some consistent performances this year.

The 31-year-old opener found his way up from 20th rank during a year which saw him become the first Pakistan batsman to slam a double-century in Australia and also the first from his country to notch two scores of more than 200 in a calendar year.

Smith’s 165 not out has taken him to 937 points as he has ended the year where he started – in top position. The Australia captain’s tally is the 10th highest ever and the highest since former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara’s 938 points in December 2007.

Smith’s team-mates David Warner and Usman Khawaja also have much to cheer about. Warner’s breezy 144 in Melbourne has lifted him up two places to fifth position while Khawaja has gained five slots to reach a career-best 13th rank after starting the year in 31st position.

South Africa opener Stephen Cook’s three centuries in his first year of Test cricket have helped him attain a creditable 25th position. His scores of 59 and 117 in a 206 runs win against Sri Lanka in the first Test which ended in Port Elizabeth on Friday, has seen him move up 18 positions from 43rd rank before this match.

India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have finished the year in the top two positions in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, which has seen South Africa fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Kyle Abbott finish with career-high ranks after taking four and five wickets, respectively, in Port Elizabeth.

Rabada, who finished with 46 wickets in nine Tests this year, has retained his 17th position while Abbott has gained seven positions to reach 21st rank.

Apart from Stephen Cook, the other newcomers to shine with the bat in their first year are Sri Lanka’s Dhananjaya de Silva (31st rank), Australia’s Peter Handscomb and India’s Karun Nair (joint-55th rank) and India all-rounder Jayant Yadav (59th rank).

In the list of bowlers, Bangladesh spinner Mehdi Hassan (34th rank) and New Zealand fast bowler Colin de Grandhomme (51st rank) had fine first years in Test cricket.

There is no change among the top five in the list of all-rounders after these two Tests, with Ashwin continuing to lead the table.

Batsmen​

[table= class:grid, align:center][tr][td]Pos[/td][td]Rat[/td][td]Name[/td][td]Highest Rating[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1[/td][td]937[/td][td]Steve Smith[/td][td]937 on 30th December 2016 against Pakistan[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]2[/td][td]875[/td][td]Virat Kohli[/td][td]886 on 12th December 2016 against England[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]3[/td][td]848[/td][td]Joe Root[/td][td]917 on 10th August 2015 against Australia[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]4[/td][td]817[/td][td]Kane Williamson[/td][td]893 on 17th November 2015 against Australia[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]5[/td][td]790[/td][td]David Warner[/td][td]880 on 13th December 2014 against India[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]6[/td][td]787[/td][td]Azhar Ali[/td][td]787 on 30th December 2016 against Australia[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]7[/td][td]778[/td][td]Hashim Amla[/td][td]907 on 17th October 2013 against Pakistan[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]8[/td][td]770[/td][td]AB de Villiers[/td][td]935 on 24th February 2014 against Australia[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]9[/td][td]740[/td][td]Quinton de Kock[/td][td]741 on 15th November 2016 against Australia[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]10[/td][td]739[/td][td]Cheteshwar Pujara[/td][td]851 on 30th December 2013 against South Africa[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]14[/td][td]726[/td][td]Younus Khan[/td][td]880 on 25th February 2009 against Sri Lanka[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]21[/td][td]672[/td][td]Asad Shafiq[/td][td]758 on 18th July 2016 against England[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]24[/td][td]655[/td][td]Misbah-ul-Haq[/td][td]842 on 13th November 2014 against New Zealand[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]27[/td][td]630[/td][td]Sarfraz Ahmed[/td][td]715 on 21st June 2015 against Sri Lanka[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]39[/td][td]548[/td][td]Mohammad Hafeez[/td][td]642 on 5th November 2015 against England[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]66[/td][td]426[/td][td]Sami Aslam[/td][td]468 on 29th November 2016 against New Zealand[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]94[/td][td]326[/td][td]Babar Azam[/td][td]360 on 29th November 2016 against New Zealand[/td][/tr][/table]

Bowlers​

[table= class:grid, align:center][tr][td]Pos[/td][td]Rat[/td][td]Name[/td][td]Highest Rating[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1[/td][td]887[/td][td]Ravichandran Ashwin[/td][td]904 on 12th December 2016 against England[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]2[/td][td]879[/td][td]Ravindra Jadeja[/td][td]879 on 20th December 2016 against England[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]3[/td][td]855[/td][td]Rangana Herath[/td][td]867 on 10th November 2016 against Zimbabwe[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]4[/td][td]835[/td][td]Dale Steyn[/td][td]909 on 21st December 2014 against West Indies[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]5[/td][td]831[/td][td]Josh Hazlewood[/td][td]831 on 30th December 2016 against Pakistan[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]6[/td][td]810[/td][td]James Anderson[/td][td]884 on 31st May 2016 against Sri Lanka[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]7[/td][td]803[/td][td]Stuart Broad[/td][td]880 on 18th January 2016 against South Africa[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]8[/td][td]792[/td][td]Mitchell Starc[/td][td]805 on 19th December 2016 against Pakistan[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]9[/td][td]760[/td][td]Vernon Philander[/td][td]912 on 22nd December 2013 against India[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]10[/td][td]755[/td][td]Neil Wagner[/td][td]760 on 31st August 2016 against South Africa[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]12[/td][td]710[/td][td]Yasir Shah[/td][td]878 on 18th July 2016 against England[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]25[/td][td]550[/td][td]Wahab Riaz[/td][td]559 on 19th December 2016 against Australia[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]31[/td][td]491[/td][td]Rahat Ali[/td][td]499 on 20th November 2016 against New Zealand[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]38[/td][td]437[/td][td]Zulfiqar Babar[/td][td]501 on 21st November 2014 against New Zealand[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]42[/td][td]406[/td][td]Imran Khan[/td][td]414 on 29th November 2016 against New Zealand[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]48[/td][td]345[/td][td]Sohail Khan[/td][td]387 on 14th August 2016 against England[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]52[/td][td]328[/td][td]Mohammad Amir[/td][td]658 on 30th August 2010 against England[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]90[/td][td]119[/td][td]Mohammad Nawaz[/td][td]177 on 25th October 2016 against West Indies[/td][/tr][/table]

 

[ExplicitAI]

Top 10 batting ranking is a very accurate image of who's better than who. Smith is clearly the best in the world.

 

[Pakprideuk]

Azhar should definitely be looking at a career average of over 50. He averaged 42 in England this year and will average extremely high in Australia inshaAllah. Needs to really fill his boots in the West Indies and the UAE tours.

 

[Hitman]

Happy for him. He deserves it.

 

[Haz95]

It's arguable that Warner, Williamson and Azhar are all interchangable however otherwise, top 10 is pretty much the correct order at the moment. Quite unfortunate that Yasir is out of the top 10 but alas it reflects his past few performances...

 

[Rayyman]

Azhar should definitely be looking at a career average of over 50. He averaged 42 in England this year and will average extremely high in Australia inshaAllah. Needs to really fill his boots in the West Indies and the UAE tours.

45+ should be fine as he is an opener.

 

[Hamza_]

This is phenomenal for someone who started cricketing career as leg spinner. Just shows on how much grit and determination the guy has.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Well done and well deserved.

 

[shaz619]

Top 5 should be:

1. Azhar Ali
2. Steve Smith
3. David Warner
4. Joe Root
5. Kane Williamson

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Surprising that Warner was in 7th place already,with the year he had(by his own standards).

 

[Rayyman]

Top 5 should be:

1. Azhar Ali
2. Steve Smith
3. David Warner
4. Joe Root
5. Kane Williamson

Warner is so overrated.
It should be:
Smith
Kohli
Root
Williamson
Azhar

 

[shaz619]

Warner is so overrated.
It should be:
Smith
Kohli
Root
Williamson
Azhar

Nope, it should be

1. Azhar Ali 2. Steve Smith 3. David Warner 4. Joe Root 5. Kane Williamson

Warner is barely rated at all he is underrated, his hundred was the game shifting one recently not Smith who is overly worshipped much like Kohli due to superficial reasons and fans suffering from a bias, inferior complex, delusion, ineptness or a combination of the four.

 

[Rayyman]

Nope, it should be

1. Azhar Ali 2. Steve Smith 3. David Warner 4. Joe Root 5. Kane Williamson

Warner is barely rated at all he is underrated, his hundred was the game shifting one recently not Smith who is overly worshipped much like Kohli due to superficial reasons and fans suffering from a bias, inferior complex, delusion, ineptness or a combination of the four.

I reckon Sharjeel could've played the same innings against Sohail "Trundler" Khan and Yasir "Full Toss" Shah. Warner only scores on roads and his bat is bigger than a rocket launcher. Smith isn't overly worshipped. He averages over 60. I'm pretty sure Tendulkar, Lara, etc. never averaged 60. I hate Kohli, but don't have a bias that stops me from seeing his greatness.

 

[shaz619]

I reckon Sharjeel could've played the same innings against Sohail "Trundler" Khan and Yasir "Full Toss" Shah. Warner only scores on roads and his bat is bigger than a rocket launcher. Smith isn't overly worshiped. He averages over 60. I'm pretty sure Tendulkar, Lara, etc. never averaged 60. I hate Kohli, but don't have a bias that stops me from seeing his greatness.

I don't know tbh if he would have because Warners and Sehwags don't fall out of a tree every day when you shake it so not sure he'd score runs vs Sohail "Fifers in England" Khan and Yasir "2nd Fastest to 100 Test Wickets" Shah. Warner is an impact bat, he can change the course of the game in a jiffy won't always be consistent away but he has the KNACK. Smith is overly worshipped, if I hadn't checked you'd have me believe that his average in Asia is 50 not that am saying he is poor or anything or else I'd not have him as no.2 in me ranking. Kohli is obviously great because he scored these majestic hundreds in Australia in tough tough conditions but Azhar is poor despite averaging more then him in England and Australia if that's not an inferior complex from our fans then I don't know what is.

 

[shaz619]

I reckon Sharjeel could've played the same innings against Sohail "Trundler" Khan and Yasir "Full Toss" Shah. Warner only scores on roads and his bat is bigger than a rocket launcher. Smith isn't overly worshipped. He averages over 60. I'm pretty sure Tendulkar, Lara, etc. never averaged 60. I hate Kohli, but don't have a bias that stops me from seeing his greatness.

Are you saying Smith is better then Lara and Tendulkar etc ?

 

[Rayyman]

Are you saying Smith is better then Lara and Tendulkar etc ?

No, but he can come close to them. Maybe even get not their level.

 

[shaz619]

No, but he can come close to them. Maybe even get not their level.

I guess I was wrong when I thought fans overate him

 

[Rayyman]

I guess I was wrong when I thought fans overate him

He probably gets on ur nerves due to his batting style.

 

[Indiafan]

I reckon Sharjeel could've played the same innings against Sohail "Trundler" Khan and Yasir "Full Toss" Shah. Warner only scores on roads and his bat is bigger than a rocket launcher. Smith isn't overly worshipped. He averages over 60. I'm pretty sure Tendulkar, Lara, etc. never averaged 60. I hate Kohli, but don't have a bias that stops me from seeing his greatness.

Sachin averaged 59 in the 90s where the pitches and the bowlers were a million time better. I think both of them might have touched 60 at some point of their career, but 90s was a whole different ball game than 2000s and later

 

[Abdullah719]

Sachin averaged 59 in the 90s where the pitches and the bowlers were a million time better. I think both of them might have touched 60 at some point of their career, but 90s was a whole different ball game than 2000s and later

I think the point was the numerical fact, rather than Smith>Sachin.

 

[Justcrazy]

Azhar should aim to be in top 3 - 4 nest year.

Babar needs to aim for top 20 next year .

 

[Rayyman]

Azhar should aim to be in top 3 - 4 nest year.

Babar needs to aim for top 20 next year .

Amir has to aim for Top 15. Shafiq has to aim for Top 10.

 

[world cup captain]

Amir has to aim for Top 15. Shafiq has to aim for Top 10.

Amir should go for top 10. A tour of WI is coming up and then two against BD. It's a chance for him to really pick up wickets.

The batsman on the other hand also have a chance to make some big moves. It looks to be a good year for Pakistan.

 

[Rayyman]

Amir should go for top 10. A tour of WI is coming up and then two against BD. It's a chance for him to really pick up wickets.

The batsman on the other hand also have a chance to make some big moves. It looks to be a good year for Pakistan.

Amir needs two or three 4/5 wicket hauls. Shafiq needs a couple daddy 100s. Would like to see Yasir and Amir getting fifties. Did y'all know Starc has 8 50s w/ a high of 99?

 

[JattMaula]

Azhar getting near Lara level. He could be best bat in world currently. Best away batter and almost best neutral venue batter. I am becoming a fan.

 

[world cup captain]

Amir needs two or three 4/5 wicket hauls. Shafiq needs a couple daddy 100s. Would like to see Yasir and Amir getting fifties. Did y'all know Starc has 8 50s w/ a high of 99?

I can see Amir getting 5-fers in the near future but he needs another bowler to really step up.

While Shafiq on the other hand, I really don't know. He has everything he needs but his brain simply doesn't allow him to be consistent.

Amir and Yasir have both looked settled most of the time they batted. It shouldn't be long before they can score fifties. Starc on the other hand is a freak of nature.

 

[Justcrazy]

Amir should go for top 10. A tour of WI is coming up and then two against BD. It's a chance for him to really pick up wickets.

The batsman on the other hand also have a chance to make some big moves. It looks to be a good year for Pakistan.

The pitches there will not support him.

 

[world cup captain]

The pitches there will not support him.

The English pacers did really well.