James Anderson becomes number-one ranked Test bowler [May 2016]

[#GreenRoars]

Anderson is the fourth England bowler to top the bowlers’ table since Ian Botham first achieved this feat in 1980.

England’s James Anderson has topped the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers for the first time in his career after bowling his side to a nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test in Chester-le-Street on Monday.

Anderson took three for 36 and five for 58, and, in doing so, has leapfrogged team-mate Stuart Broad and India’s Ravichandran Ashwin into the coveted number-one position. He now leads Broad by 15 points and Ashwin by 13 points.

For his efforts that also fetched him the man of the match award, Anderson has earned 30 points. This means in the two Tests against Sri Lanka, the 33-year-old Lancastrian has collected 79 points and has gained four spots in the rankings.

Anderson is the fourth England bowler to top the bowlers’ table since Ian Botham first achieved this feat in 1980. Steve Harmison stormed up the charts in 2004, while Broad vaulted to the number-one position earlier this year following the Johannesburg Test against South Africa.

Broad, who took five wickets in the Test, has slipped behind Ashwin to third place after conceding three points.

Other bowlers to improve their rankings post the Chester-le-Street Test are Nuwan Pradeep (43rd, up by five places), Milinda Siriwardana (50th, up by 13 places) and Chris Woakes (73rd, up by 16 places).

In the batting table, England’s Moeen Ali has achieved a career-best ranking.

The left-handed batsman scored 155 not out, his career-best score in 25 Tests, which helped England to declare its first innings at 498 for nine. For this achievement, Ali has earned 82 points that has lifted him 12 places to a career-high 35th position in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen.

Opener Alex Hales has also continued to head in the right direction. After scoring 83 and 11, the 27-year-old batsman has moved up nine places to 70th. In the past two Tests, Hales has gained 47 places and looks strong to gain further spots as he is still in the qualification period. A batsman qualifies for a full rating after he has played 40 Test innings, while Hales has so far batted in only 11 Test innings.

Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal, who scored 126 in the second innings, has moved up one place to 19th, while Nick Compton is now in 67thspot after rising one place.

Alastair Cook, who became the first England batsman to complete 10,000 Test runs while scoring 47 not out in the second innings, has retained his 15th position.

Australia captain Steve Smith is the number-one ranked Test batsman, followed by Joe Root of England and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.

In the all-rounders’ list, Ali has gained one place and is now sixth, just one point behind team-mate Ben Stokes. Ashwin is the number-one ranked all-rounder.

The Test player rankings will now be updated after the Lord’s Test.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 31 May, after Chester-le-Street Test)

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating

1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 925 60.18 936 v Eng at Lord's 2015

2 ( - ) Joe Root Eng 878 54.46 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

3 ( - ) Kane Williamson NZ 868 49.23 893 v Aus at Perth 2015

4 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 860 51.45 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

5 ( - ) Younus Khan Pak 826 53.94 880 v SL at Lahore 2009

6 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 818 50.46 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

7 ( - ) Adam Voges Aus 811*! 95.50 811 v NZ at Christchurch 2016

8 ( - ) David Warner Aus 800 50.06 880 v NZ at Perth 2015

9 ( - ) Angelo Mathews SL 784 49.25 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014

10 ( - ) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 764 48.89 842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014

Other selected rankings

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating

15 ( - ) Alastair Cook Eng 710 46.49 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012

19 (+1) D. Chandimal SL 674 45.18 690 v NZ at Dunedin 2015

21 ( - ) Jonny Bairstow Eng 644 35.69 646 v SL at Headingley 2016

35 (+12) Moeen Ali Eng 558! 31.54 558 v SL at Durham 2016

37 (-2) D. Karunaratne SL 541 33.28 619 v WI at Galle 2015

44 ( - ) Kaushal Silva SL 508 31.29 638 v Pak at Colombo (PSS) 2015

55 (-5) M. Siriwardana SL 435* 33.11 463 v NZ at Hamilton 2015

67 (+1) Nick Compton Eng 364* 30.20 443 v NZ at Wellington 2013

68 (-2) L. Thirimanne SL 358 24.16 386 v Ind at Colombo (PSS) 2015

70 (+9) Alex Hales Eng 351*! 28.72 351 v SL at Durham 2016

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating

1 (+2) James Anderson Eng 884! 28.33 884 v SL at Durham 2016

2 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 871! 25.39 871 v SA at Delhi 2015

3 (-2) Stuart Broad Eng 869 28.37 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016

4 ( - ) Yasir Shah Pak 846*! 24.17 846 v Eng at Sharjah 2015

5 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 841 22.53 909 v WI at Centurion 2014

6 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 789*! 23.76 789 v SA at Delhi 2015

7 ( - ) Trent Boult NZ 757 29.14 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015

8 ( - ) Josh Hazlewood Aus 741* 25.77 792 v WI at Hobart 2015

9 ( - ) Morne Morkel SA 724 29.33 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

10 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 717 22.08 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

Other selected rankings

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating

13 (-2) Rangana Herath SL 679 30.11 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014

21 (-2) Steven Finn Eng 578 28.55 624 v NZ at Headingley 2013

28 (-3) Moeen Ali Eng 481* 40.65 557 v SA at Durban 2015

40 (-5) Shaminda Eranga SL 387* 37.45 541 v Eng at Headingley 2014

43 (+5) Nuwan Pradeep SL 374*! 45.27 374 v Eng at Durham 2016

44 (-3) D. Chameera SL 373* 27.28 377 v Eng at Headingley 2016

47 (-1) Suranga Lakmal SL 355* 49.62 363 v NZ at Wellington 2015

50 (+13) M. Siriwardana SL 327*! 23.36 327 v Eng at Durham 2016

73 (+16) Chris Woakes Eng 179*! 47.84 179 v SL at Durham 2016

All-rounders (top five)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Rating

1 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 406 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013

2 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 384 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014

3 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 294 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012

4 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 275*/ 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014

5 (-1) Ben Stokes Eng 269 /* 276 v SA at Centurion 2016

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Has had a fab series.

18 wickets in 2 tests.

Averages getting better too...at 28.33 now

He may get it to 27 or lesser by the end of this season.

 

[Ab Fan]

A very good bowler and just a notch below Shaun Pollock.

Steyn and Donald are a notch ahead of Pollock.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Well deserved and congrats Jimmy. I'm a fan these days. This guy bowls with a lot of heart and skill even if he'll never be an ATG.

 

[#GreenRoars]

Well deserved, un-stoppable he is.

 

[street cricketer]

Strange to see no batsmen but two bowlers in the top 10 for India.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Strange to see no batsmen but two bowlers in the top 10 for India.

We have a decent test batting lineup but no individual brilliance . Absolutely no one in the Smith/Root bracket. None of our bats can score daddy hundreds.

 

[Hasan123]

Well deserved a treat to watch when in full flow

 

[Slog]

Has had a fab series.

18 wickets in 2 tests.

Averages getting better too...at 28.33 now

He may get it to 27 or lesser by the end of this season.

probably gonne be under 27.5 at end of four tests against us

 

[Slog]

Phlander, Morkel and Steyn all top 10.

A year and half ago all were top 5 i think

 

[pakistani pride]

He deserves it.

 

[street cricketer]

We have a decent test batting lineup but no individual brilliance . Absolutely no one in the Smith/Root bracket. None of our bats can score daddy hundreds.

Kohli will make a transformation this season jai sree ram.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Kohli will make a transformation this season jai sree ram.

I hope so dear brother but he's already 28 and he hasn't really shown any glimpse of that till now. But Ram willing , he will .

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Strange to see no batsmen but two bowlers in the top 10 for India.

That weird moment when you realize Jaddu currently averages 23 in test cricket and may very well end his career with an ATG average (cos he will play less outside Asia and in Asia...Jaddu will average great cos he is super economical).

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Congratulations.

It took him 13 years of international Cricket to achieve this.

Hats off to him for his hardwork, dedication, passion & commitment.

Hats off to selectors for persisting with him even when his performances weren't satisfactory.

They believed in him, they backed him and he delivered.


Anderson has a great chance to surpass Glen McGrath.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[Convict]

Congratulations.

It took him 13 years of international Cricket to achieve this.

Hats off to him for his hardwork, dedication, passion & commitment.

Hats off to selectors for persisting with him even when his performances weren't satisfactory.

They believed in him, they backed him and he delivered.


Anderson has a great chance to surpass Glen McGrath.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

On pure wickets taken. Certainly not surpass him as a bowler.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

On pure wickets taken. Certainly not surpass him as a bowler.

I also meant (wickets taken)

But if this peak continues for next 2 years than you never know (unlikely)

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[street cricketer]

That weird moment when you realize Jaddu currently averages 23 in test cricket and may very well end his career with an ATG average (cos he will play less outside Asia and in Asia...Jaddu will average great cos he is super economical).

Jaddu "IS" an ATG bowler.

Haters can hate.

 

[Mamoon]

Jadeja is as good as any spinner on Asian conditions.

 

[OS_89]

It's easy to underrated Jadeja assuming he only takes wickets on rank turners (which in itself is a great skill to have), but the guy ran through SA on a perfectly normal pitch in Bangalore as well. He's obviously not a bowler befitting an ATG average of 23, but too many people write him off as a joke, when he's actually very good.

 

[FreePalestine]

Pakistan will officially be facing the world's two best seam bowlers in their home conditions!

 

[The_Odd_One]

An average bowler who is benefiting in an era of dearth of quality fast bowlers, averages 38 in Australia, 30 in India, 36 in NZ, 40 in SA, and 40 in SL.

 

[BD-fan]

Good. Why did it took so long?

May be others are not playing Tests that much any more?

 

[Markhor]

An average bowler who is benefiting in an era of dearth of quality fast bowlers, averages 38 in Australia, 30 in India, 36 in NZ, 40 in SA, and 40 in SL.

I'll paste what I said in a related thread - this is why just looking at numbers on the surface makes for an insufficient analysis. It doesn't take into account how the coaches were messing around with his action early on in his career. Those numbers you quote are skewed by Anderson's performances earlier in his career when he wasn't ready for internationals, he debuted too early and was in and out of the side until Peter Moores finally put the Anderson-Broad new ball combination together in 2008.

That India average is actually quite good considering those pitches aren't very conducive to seamers. Averages 20 in UAE graveyards and 24 in WI which is excellent. In NZ he's only played 3 Tests which is a small sample size, and I remember that 2013 series being marred by dead surfaces and poor weather. All three Tests were drawn so insufficient evidence to condemn a bowler. On his last SL tour in 2012 he got a 5-fer in Galle and averaged 21. I do agree Broad has outbowled him in Australia and SA though.

Since 2010, his bowling avg is 30 away from home which is decent if you consider this is an era of flat pitches, the useless Kookaburra which is not as durable as the Dukes and becomes target practice for batsmen once it loses its shine, and supersized bats.

Now saying all that, no I don't think he's better than Dale Steyn who's the bowler of this generation. But to say he's an average bowler is missing the mark.

 

[The_Odd_One]

[MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]
Oh please.. He debuted in 2003 and he is almost 34 right now which means that he was around 20-21 when he debuted, definitely not that young. He has been a regular member of England team since 2008 and even since then, he still averages above 30 in Australia, India, NZ, and SA. What is the excuse for that?

 

[Markhor]

[MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]
Oh please.. He debuted in 2003 and he is almost 34 right now which means that he was around 20-21 when he debuted, definitely not that young. He has been a regular member of England team since 2008 and even since then, he still averages above 30 in Australia, India, NZ, and SA. What is the excuse for that?

I've already answered all those points if you re-read the post.

Its not about age, he wasn't ready for international cricket. Between 2003-2008 he was the understudy for Harmison, Hoggard, Flintoff and Gough. Coaches were messing about with his action and he struggled to make an impact - hence why I say its a far more accurate reflection of his ability to look at his stats since those early years.

His away bowling average is decent during post 2010. I never said its ATG-worthy, I've already said that but to keep recycling PP cliches like "he just depends on the cloudzz" like some posters on here do is lazy and inaccurate cricket analysis and dismisses the importance of context when using statistics.

 

[ShoonyaSifar]

His last 300 wickets have come at an avg of 25!! Overall career average may be 28 but he has been ohenomenal in an era of flat pitches.

850+ wickets between him and Broad! If we get two pacers even hakf good as them, we may start winning some series away from Asia.

A 5 test series in India later in the year will test his resilience though especially given that we may not see dustbowls unlike last time when it backfired on us.

 

[The_Odd_One]

His last 300 wickets have come at an avg of 25!! Overall career average may be 28 but he has been ohenomenal in an era of flat pitches.

850+ wickets between him and Broad! If we get two pacers even hakf good as them, we may start winning some series away from Asia.

A 5 test series in India later in the year will test his resilience though especially given that we may not see dustbowls unlike last time when it backfired on us.

Pakistan always had comparable pacers but the losses usually came because of the poor batting. If the pacers give you a target of 150 and you cannot even chase that, then your bowling is not the problem.

 

[The_Odd_One]

I've already answered all those points if you re-read the post.

Its not about age, he wasn't ready for international cricket. Between 2003-2008 he was the understudy for Harmison, Hoggard, Flintoff and Gough. Coaches were messing about with his action and he struggled to make an impact - hence why I say its a far more accurate reflection of his ability to look at his stats since those early years.

His away bowling average is decent during post 2010. I never said its ATG-worthy, I've already said that but to keep recycling PP cliches like "he just depends on the cloudzz" like some posters on here do is lazy and inaccurate cricket analysis and dismisses the importance of context when using statistics.

Just explain one thing then, as I previously mentioned why does he average 30+ in 4 countries since 2008?

 

[Suleiman]

Well deserved.

I hope we can have a Pak allrounder break into the top 5 soon.

 

[Markhor]

Just explain one thing then, as I previously mentioned why does he average 30+ in 4 countries since 2008?

You keep asking me questions I've already covered, perhaps you didn't read my original reply properly so I'll repeat again:

That India average is actually quite good considering those pitches aren't very conducive to seamers. Averages 20 in UAE graveyards and 24 in WI which is excellent. In NZ he's only played 3 Tests which is a small sample size, and I remember that 2013 series being marred by dead surfaces and poor weather. All three Tests were drawn so insufficient evidence to condemn a bowler. On his last SL tour in 2012 he got a 5-fer in Galle and averaged 21.

I do agree Broad has outbowled him in Australia and SA though.

Since 2010, his bowling avg is 30 away from home which is decent if you consider this is an era of flat pitches, the useless Kookaburra which is not as durable as the Dukes and becomes target practice for batsmen once it loses its shine, and supersized bats.

 

[ShoonyaSifar]

Pakistan always had comparable pacers but the losses usually came because of the poor batting. If the pacers give you a target of 150 and you cannot even chase that, then your bowling is not the problem.

Am an Indian, why would a Pakistani wish to have pacers only half good as Anderson-Broad when they've had Imran, Wasim, Waqar, Shoaib, Asif and now Amir.

 

[The_Odd_One]

4 wickets in 3 matches at an average of 53

Another great performance by Anderson in cloudless conditions

 

[Speedster777]

This title only belongs to Muhammad Asif. Let him return next year Inshallah. We'll see how long Anderson lasts.

 

[Napa]

4 wickets in 3 matches at an average of 53

Another great performance by Anderson in cloudless conditions

India has become the graveyard of foreign bowlers. When you have a batting lineup in which an unbeaten triple centurion may or may not find a place in the next Test, you know it is going to be a long day for all foreign bowlers, #1 rated or otherwise.

 

[jeetu]

He is currently in No.5 position after Ashwin , Jadeja , Herath and Steyn