Moeen Ali achieves career-high rankings after South Africa Test series

[A.A.Z]

Moeen Ali has received a rankings boost in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings following a player of the match performance in the Lord’s Test in which England defeated South Africa by 211 runs to go 1-0 up in the four-match series.

Ali contributed 87 and seven with the bat and bagged four for 59 and six for 53 with the red cherry as England romped to victory with more than a day to spare.

For his heroics with both the bat and the ball, Ali has been rewarded with improvements in all three categories, which, in turn, have given him career-best batting, bowling and all-rounder rankings.

In the batting chart, Ali has gained three places and is now just outside the top 20 in 21st place; in the bowling table, he has broken into the top 20 in 19th position by rising nine places; while in the all-rounders list, Ali has moved ahead of team-mate Ben Stokes in fourth position for the first time in his career.

The latest gains mean Ali is now England’s fourth highest-ranked batsman, third highest-ranked bowler and best all-rounder.

Joe Root, who celebrated his first Test as England captain by stroking 190 in the first innings and then inspiring his side to victory, has another reason to smile as he has jumped ahead of his New Zealand opposite number Kane Williamson in second place.

Root had entered the Lord’s Test trailing Williamson by 32 points, but now leads the New Zealander by eight points. Number-one ranked Steve Smith will be Root’s next target as the Australian captain is sitting on 941 points - 53 points ahead of the Englishman. If Root can continue performing like at Lord’s, he can potentially go top of the table.

Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, former captain Alistair Cook and one-down batsman Gary Ballance are the other England batsman to have gained in the latest rankings, while Temba Bavuma and Vernon Philander are the two South Africa batsmen to head in the right direction.

Bairstow is now 10th after rising one place, Cook has moved up two places to claim 11th position and Ballance is 59th after earning three places, while Bavuma is 41st (up by four places) and Philander is 66th (up by eight places).

In the bowling table and apart from Moeen Ali’s improvement, Philander and Morne Morkel have gained one place each to sit 10th and 13th, respectively. The table is headed by India’s Ravindra Jadeja, with Ravichandran Ashwin second and Rangana Herath third.

Shakib Al Hasan is the number-one ranked all-rounder, followed by Jadeja, Ashwin, Ali and Stokes.

The second Test begins at Trent Bridge on Friday, 14 July.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 10 July, after Lord’s Test)

BATSMEN (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating

1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 941! 61.05 941 v Ind at Dharamsala 2017

2 (+1) Joe Root Eng 888 53.80 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

3 (-1) K. Williamson NZ 880 51.16 893 v Aus at Perth 2015

4 ( - ) C. Pujara Ind 846 51.32 861 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

5 ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 818 49.41 895 v Ban at Hyderabad 2017

6 ( - ) Q de Kock SA 791* 50.07 802 v NZ at Hamilton 2017

7 ( - ) Azhar Ali Pak 769 46.86 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016

8 ( - ) David Warner Aus 759 47.42 880 v NZ at Perth 2015

9 (+1) Lokesh Rahul Ind 739*! 44.44 739 v Aus at Dharamsala 2017

10 (+1) Jonny Bairstow Eng 728 40.91 759 v Ind at Mohali 2016



Selected rankings

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating

11 (+2) Alastair Cook Eng 726 46.37 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012

13 (-4) Hashim Amla SA 725 49.03 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

19 ( - ) Dean Elgar SA 657 38.83 740 v NZ at Dunedin 2017

21 (+3) Moeen Ali Eng 651! 35.45 651 v SA at Lord's 2017

36 ( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 570 33.77 614 v Ind at Visakhapatnam 2016

40 (-2) JP Duminy SA 533 32.85 593 v SL at Johannesburg 2017

41 (+4) Temba Bavuma SA 528* 32.03 563 v Aus at Hobart 2016

59 (+3) Gary Ballance Eng 464 38.60 702 v WI at Grenada 2015

66 (+8) Vernon Philander SA 416 25.11 453 v WI at Port Elizabeth 2014



BOWLERS (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating

1 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 898 23.12 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

2 ( - ) Ravichandran Ashwin Ind 865 25.22 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016

3 ( - ) Rangana Herath SL 854 27.87 867 v Zim at Harare 2016

4 ( - ) Josh Hazlewood Aus 826 25.39 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017

5 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 814 28.44 884 v SL at Durham 2016

6 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 797 28.56 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016

7 ( - ) Kagiso Rabada SA 793* 24.09 821 v SL at Johannesburg 2017

8 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 787 22.30 909 v WI at Centurion 2014

9 ( - ) Neil Wagner NZ 745 28.90 767 v SA at Dunedin 2017

10 (+1) Vernon Philander SA 743 22.45 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013



Selected rankings

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating

13 (+1) Morne Morkel SA 705 29.11 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

19 (+9) Moeen Ali Eng 590! 39.35 590 v SA at Lord's 2017

22 (-2) Ben Stokes Eng 560* 35.13 589 v Ind at Mohali 2016

38 ( - ) Keshav Maharaj SA 437* 28.83 464 v NZ at Wellington 2017

53 (RE) Mark Wood Eng 297* 35.69 369 v Pak at Dubai 2015



ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Highest Rating

1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 431 443 v NZ at Christchurch 2017

2 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 422! 422 v Aus at Dharamsala 2017

3 ( - ) Ravichandran Ashwin Ind 413 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016

4 (+2) Moeen Ali Eng 384! 384 v SA at Lord's 2017

5 (-1) Ben Stokes Eng 319 /* 351 v Ind at Mohali 2016

https://www.icc-cricket.com/media-releases/436350

 

[Robert]

I thought Moeen was 3/4 of a test batter and 2/3 or a test bowler, but he has done well in this match, albeit against weak batting on what turned into a bunsen. He did what a spinner is for - keep it tight first dig, clean up second dig and you can't ask for more.

 

[Proactive_]

Much better all rounder than Ashwin. Impactful batsman and now a very reliable bowling option.

 

[kaifmazhar]

This guy just needs to become a little selfish and one would see his numbers becoming a lot better than what it is now. Often he choses riskier options for the better interest of the team.He can learn it from the biggest one,Sachin. And he is already a match winner unlike the latter.

 

[Bilal7]

This guy just needs to become a little selfish and one would see his numbers becoming a lot better than what it is now. Often he choses riskier options for the better interest of the team.He can learn it from the biggest one,Sachin. And he is already a match winner unlike the latter.

Despite that, he still has better batting numbers than Ben Stokes.

Moeen Ali is one of the best players in the world at the moment. Was fantastic in India, was fantastic in England during the previous summer and now he's taken a 10-fer against South Africa.

 

[Proactive_]

Despite that, he still has better batting numbers than Ben Stokes.

Moeen Ali is one of the best players in the world at the moment. Was fantastic in India, was fantastic in England during the previous summer and now he's taken a 10-fer against South Africa.

Exactly. Easily the most impactful batting all rounder since Sobers. Will end up as England's best ever all rounder.

 

[moghul]

Exactly. Easily the most impactful batting all rounder since Sobers. Will end up as England's best ever all rounder.

Lets not be carried away, Botham was an all time great, among the best along with Sobers, IK in the history of the game. Moeen is doing great but not even close to Botham and many great all rounders in the past.

 

[Robert]

Exactly. Easily the most impactful batting all rounder since Sobers. Will end up as England's best ever all rounder.

Oh, come on. Imran, Botham, Kapil, Kallis.....

 

[ads101]

Strange. He doesn't really make it into the side ball or bat alone (well maybe ball since England don't have too many spin options atm, but he isn't the same standard as most full time spinners). His bowling especially looks not too lethal, it's a surprise he takes as many wickets as he does.

And yet, combined his worth his very evident to England, the team seems stronger with Moeen in. Would even go to say they rely on him/has more worth than Stokes. England have plenty of pace options, but the extra spin option seems to be more valuable to them.

Think it might be time actually to move Moeen up to 6 and Stokes down to 7.

 

[Robert]

Think it might be time actually to move Moeen up to 6 and Stokes down to 7.

Could be, though that 250 is holding Stokes up the order. Remember that it was Stokes who batted the hard yards when SA were on top and steadied the ship.

The trouble is that we have three #6/7s at present, with Barstow the keeper.

Moeen is certainly better than #8, though I prefer to see him down the order putting effort into bowling well. We've got a long batting line already.

 

[The_Odd_One]

He is a rich man's Ashley Giles. Far better bowler and batsman.

 

[Markhor]

Shows how poor South Africa are at playing spin.

We took Moeen to the cleaners in our last two series vs England.

 

[shaz619]

[MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] having his dinner this evening, note [MENTION=865]Big Mac[/MENTION]

 

[shaz619]

Exactly. Easily the most impactful batting all rounder since Sobers. Will end up as England's best ever all rounder.

Excellent response, you have now exposed [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] and his fallacies with your award winning wit and intricate analysis.

 

[sam_ahm]

Happy for Moeen, he really has come a long way. To be honest I never thought Moeen will be able to survive for long at international level but boy he has proved me wrong, and I'm so happy to be proved wrong.

 

[Proactive_]

Excellent response, you have now exposed [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] and his fallacies with your award winning wit and intricate analysis.

Is this some sort of a joke?

Which batting all rounder has been more impactful than Moeen since Sobers? Kallis? No. Dude was hardly a handy 5th bowler. Klusner? Test failure. .. and I just can't think of anyone else. Ali already has 5 Test centuries and has contributed in multiple test wins with the ball, and he 's only gonna get better. Joke's on you, pal!

 

[shaz619]

Is this some sort of a joke?

Which batting all rounder has been more impactful than Moeen since Sobers? Kallis? No. Dude was hardly a handy 5th bowler. Klusner? Test failure. .. and I just can't think of anyone else. Ali already has 5 Test centuries and has contributed in multiple test wins with the ball, and he 's only gonna get better. Joke's on you, pal!

I donate my POTW to you, excellent post genius insight brother

 

[MenInG]

Moeen Ali advances in latest ICC Test Rankigs

England all-rounder Moeen Ali has finished the series against South Africa with career-best rankings as a batsman, bowler and all-rounder after another stellar show in the fourth and final Test which his side won by 177 runs on Monday to clinch the series 3-1.

Ali’s scores of 14 and 75 not out have helped him move up three positions back to a career-best 21st position among batsmen in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings while his seven wickets in the match have enabled him to retain a career-best ranking of 18th among bowlers and fourth in the table for all-rounders, in which he has crossed 400 points for the first time.

His rise in the rankings was due to consistent performances as he became the first player to score 250 runs and take 25 wickets in a four-Test series and was named the player of the series along with South Africa’s Morne Morkel. Ali had started the series at number 27 among batsmen, 30th among bowlers and sixth in the table for all-rounders.

His team-mates Jonny Bairstow and James Anderson too have made significant progress. Bairstow’s knocks of 99 and 10 have helped him reach a career-best rank of seventh while Anderson’s seven wickets have helped him overtake India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to take second place among bowlers.

For South Africa, Hashim Amla’s knocks of 30 and 83 have helped him move up one slot to ninth position while pace bowler Duanne Olivier’s five wickets in the match have taken him up 27 slots up to a career-best 51st position.

Meanwhile, India batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have made notable movements after their centuries in the Colombo Test helped India take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series with an innings and 53 runs win over Sri Lanka. Pujara’s knock of 133 in his 50th Test has helped him to a career-high 888 points and third position while Rahane has moved from 11th to fifth position with a score of 132.

Ravindra Jadeja’s knock of 70 not out and seven wickets have seen him edge out Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan to take the top position among all-rounders for the first time. Jadeja, who is the top-ranked Test bowler, has also gained nine places to reach 51st rank among batsmen while India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha has attained a career-best 44th position after moving up four places.

Pace bowlers Mohammad Shami (up three places to 20th) and Umesh Yadav (up three places to 22nd) have made notable gains.

For Sri Lanka, Kusal Mendis has moved up 10 places to 19th position after scores of 24 and 110 in the Colombo Test while opener Dimuth Karunaratne has gained 13 slots to reach 24th rank after scores of 25 and 141. Niroshan Dickwella has moved up 21 slots to a career-best 68th position.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 8 August, after the fourth and final Test between England and South Africa at Old Trafford and the second Test between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo):

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 941! 61.05 941 v Ind at Dharamsala 2017
2 ( - ) Joe Root Eng 891 53.21 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
3 (+1) C. Pujara Ind 888! 53.23 888 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
4 (-1) K. Williamson NZ 880 51.16 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
5 ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 813 49.63 895 v Ban at Hyderabad 2017
6 (+5) A. Rahane Ind 776 48.13 825 v NZ at Indore 2016
7 (+2) J. Bairstow Eng 772! 41.26 772 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
8 (-2) Azhar Ali Pak 769 46.86 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016
9 (+1) Hashim Amla SA 764 49.00 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
10 (-3) David Warner Aus 759 47.42 880 v NZ at Perth 2015

Other selected rankings

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
11 (+2) Lokesh Rahul Ind 737* 44.89 739 v Aus at Dharamsala 2017
19 (+10) Kusal Mendis SL 671* 36.56 692 v Aus at Galle 2016
21 (+3) Moeen Ali Eng 655! 35.14 655 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
24 (+13) D. Karunaratne SL 633! 35.50 633 v Ind at Colombo (SSC) 2017
44 (+4) W. Saha Ind 524*! 33.21 524 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
51 (+9) R.Jadeja Ind 491! 29.89 491 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
68 (+21) N. Dickwella SL 414*! 30.41 414 v Ind at Colombo (SSC) 2017

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) R. Jadeja Ind 893 23.60 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
2 (+1) J. Anderson Eng 860 27.90 884 v SL at Durham 2016
3 (-1) R. Ashwin Ind 842 25.47 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
4 ( - ) J. Hazlewood Aus 826 25.39 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017
5 (-1) R. Herath SL 817 28.25 867 v Zim at Harare 2016
6 ( - ) K. Rabada SA 785* 24.56 821 v SL at Johannesburg 2017
7 (+1) Stuart Broad Eng 775 28.64 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
8 (-1) Dale Steyn SA 763 22.30 909 v WI at Centurion 2014
9 ( - ) V. Philander SA 751 22.45 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
10 ( - ) Neil Wagner NZ 745 28.90 767 v SA at Dunedin 2017

Other selected rankings

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
18 ( - ) Moeen Ali Eng 625! 36.82 625 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
20 (+3) M. Shami Ind 573* 32.17 595 v Eng at Mohali 2016
22 (+3) Umesh Yadav Ind 568*! 36.23 568 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
44 (+10) T. Roland-Jones Eng 362*! 22.20 362 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
51 (+27) Duanne Olivier SA 341*! 20.83 341 v Eng at Old Trafford 2017

All-rounders (top five)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Highest Rating
1 (+1) R. Jadeja Ind 438! 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
2 (-1) S. Al Hasan Ban 431 443 v NZ at Christchurch 2017
3 (-1) R. Ashwin Ind 418 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016
4 ( - ) Moeen Ali Eng 409! 409 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
5 ( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 360 /* 362 v SA a

 

[shaz619]

Great to see Moeen get the ranking boost, also great to see the mediocre Shakib being demoted because he is not the best by thousands of country miles; I'd have him at the very least a couple of positions below Stokes.

 

[Bilal7]

Moeen Ali is an English great already.

 

[idrizzy]

Great to see Moeen get the ranking boost, also great to see the mediocre Shakib being demoted because he is not the best by thousands of country miles; I'd have him at the very least a couple of positions below Stokes.

So the Beard is the greatest AR of all time, from this comment?

Mr Reliable for sure though.

 

[Bilal7]

Excellent response, you have now exposed [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] and his fallacies with your award winning wit and intricate analysis.

What?

He's not as valuable as Kallis yet. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. For that to happen, he'll need to get his batting average in the 40s and lower his bowling average to the 30-32 range. Along with churning out such incredible all-round efforts in a few more series.

The English MVP at the moment though. England can afford to lose Stokes but will be crippled if Moeen is excluded from the lineup. He's the best spinner in England and as good a batsman as anyone apart from Root, Cook and maybe Bairstow.

 

[shaz619]

What?

He's not as valuable as Kallis yet. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. For that to happen, he'll need to get his batting average in the 40s and lower his bowling average to the 30-32 range. Along with churning out such incredible all-round efforts in a few more series.

The English MVP at the moment though. England can afford to lose Stokes but will be crippled if Moeen is excluded from the lineup. He's the best spinner in England and as good a batsman as anyone apart from Root, Cook and maybe Bairstow.

Sarcasm was directed at the idiot taking the mick because he still hasn't gotten over the nightmare Mo gave the Indians

 

[shaz619]

So the Beard is the greatest AR of all time, from this comment?

Mr Reliable for sure though.

Was it ever in doubt

 

[Bilal7]

Hoping to see him make similar strides in the LOs now.

 

[shaz619]

Hoping to see him make similar strides in the LOs now.

He will do really well in that format and at some point will become captain be it in ODI, T20 or Tests, mark my words.

For me his litmus Test will be the Ashes down under! spinners tend to be handicapped over there, so for me he will need to stand up with the bat; if he does anything decent with the ball it will be a huge bonus

 

[Bilal7]

He will do really well in that format and at some point will become captain be it in ODI, T20 or Tests, mark my words.

For me his litmus Test will be the Ashes down under! spinners tend to be handicapped over there, so for me he will need to stand up with the bat; if he does anything decent with the ball it will be a huge bonus

Yes, InshAllah. I feel like he'll do really well in the Ashes. He'll enjoy the flat pitches and pick up wickets if the Aussies try to target him.

 

[ads101]

kind of goes to show my point, bairstow is the no.7 ranked batsman why is he batting below stokes at 7? why is moeen batting below stokes while hes achieved a better average despite being stuck at 8? i think moeen and bairstow need to move up. i remember thinking moeen was awful early on but ive changed englands become really reliant on him now

 

[Boi]

Hoping to see him make similar strides in the LOs now.

Only if he's given his natural spot at the top of the order. Traditional finger spinners are fast becoming useless in LOIs so I doubt he will succeed as much with the ball. His batting has immense potential for those formats though. He's been hard done by with being demoted from the opening spot due to no fault of his own and there really isn't any sign he'll return there either with the likes of Billings and Bairstow being preferred to open whenever Roy/Hales have not played.

 

[Titan of Technique]

3 Indians in Top 10 batsmen rankings and KL Rahul at No. 11.Also good to see Shami and Yadav rise in the rankings.

 

[the Great Khan]

Moeen is an inspirational cricketer. A hard working humble individual that youngsters should look up to. Everytime he scores I feel the buzz because he represents so much for us British Pakistanis and our children.