Taylor makes batting rankings jump

New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has moved into the top 10 of the ICC Test Player Rankings.

This comes after a fine performance in the second and final Test against the Windies in Hamilton which Taylor’s side won by 240 runs on Tuesday to complete a 2-0 series win.

Taylor, who enjoyed a career-high third position in December 2013 when he tallied 871 points, 132 more than his current total of 739, scored 16 and 107 not out to move up three places and take 10th position in a list led by Australia captain Steve Smith.

The 33-year-old Taylor’s 17th Test century has helped him re-enter the top 10 after last being there in August 2016. He is now the second-best placed New Zealand batsman with captain Kane Williamson occupying fifth position.

New Zealand opener Jeet Raval and all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme have also made significant gains. Raval has gained four slots to reach 30th position after scores of 84 and four in Hamilton, while de Grandhomme has gained five places to reach a career-best 70th position with scores of 58 and 22.

Mitchell Santner (up one place to a career-best 51st) has moved up among bowlers for New Zealand, while pace bowlers Shannon Gabriel (up two places to 21st) and Miguel Cummins (up 14 places to 63rd) have gained for the visiting side.

Among the Windies batsmen, Roston Chase has gained seven slots to reach 38th position while Shane Dowrich has gained six places to reach 83rd position.

Meanwhile, there has been no change of positions in the ICC Test Team Rankings. New Zealand have gained three points to reach 100 points but remain in fourth position. The Windies have lost three points but are still in eighth position, ahead of Bangladesh on decimal points.

The Test team rankings, unlike the ODI and T20I rankings, are updated after the end of the series.

ICC Test Team Rankings (as of 13 December, after the second and final Test between New Zealand and the Windies in Hamilton):

Rank     Team                    Points

1            India                     124

2            South Africa         111

3            England                105

4            New Zealand        100 ( 3)

5            Australia                97

6            Sri Lanka               94

7            Pakistan                88

8            Windies                 72 (-3)

9            Bangladesh          72

10          Zimbabwe            02

(Developed by David Kendix)

ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 13 December, after the second and final Test between New Zealand and the Windies in Hamilton):

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank      ( /-)        Player                 Team     Pts         Avge      Highest Rating

1         ( – )         Steve Smith         Aus        938       60.40     941 v Eng at Brisbane 2017

2         ( – )         Virat Kohli            Ind         893       53.75     895 v Ban at Hyderabad 2017

3         ( – )         Joe Root              Eng        879       53.05     917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

4         ( – )         C. Pujara              Ind         873       52.96     888 v SL at Nagpur 2017

5         ( – )         Kane Williamson  NZ          855       50.62     893 v Aus at Perth 2015

6         ( – )         David Warner       Aus        815       48.18     880 v NZ at Perth 2015

7         ( – )         Hashim Amla       SA          795       49.87     907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

8         ( – )         Azhar Ali              Pak        755       46.62     787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016

9         ( – )         D. Chandimal       SL          743!      43.94     743 v Ind at Delhi 2017

10        ( 3)        Ross Taylor          NZ          739       48.04     871 v Win at Hamilton 2013

Other selected rankings

Rank      ( /-)        Player                    Team   Pts        Avge     Highest Rating

30=        ( 4)        Jeet Raval               NZ       614*!     44.50    614 v Win at Hamilton 2017

38          ( 7)        Roston Chase         Win     572*      38.03    626 v Pak at Dominica 2017

70          ( 5)        C.de Grandhomme NZ       419*!     35.54    419 v Win at Hamilton 2017

76=        ( 1)        Martin Guptill           NZ       391        29.38    597 v Win at Jamaica 2012

83          ( 6)        Shane Dowrich       Win     364*      24.13    447 v Pak at Jamaica 2017

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank      ( /-)       Player                  Team     Pts        Avge      Highest Rating

1         ( – )         James Anderson  Eng        894       27.34     896 v Win at Lord’s 2017

2         ( – )         Kagiso Rabada    SA          876!      22.71     876 v Ban at Bloemfontein 2017

3         ( – )         Ravindra Jadeja   Ind         870       23.73     899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

4         ( – )         R. Ashwin             Ind         829       25.44     904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016

5         ( – )         Rangana Herath  SL          799       28.04     867 v Zim at Harare 2016

6         ( – )         Josh Hazlewood  Aus        786       25.97     863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017

7         ( – )         Neil Wagner         NZ          784       27.87     785 v Win at Wellington 2017

8         ( – )         Mitchell Starc       Aus        775       27.54     805 v Pak at Brisbane 2016

9         ( – )         Nathan Lyon        Aus        774!      31.47     774 v Eng at Adelaide 2017

10        ( – )         Dale Steyn           SA          748       22.30     909 v Win at Centurion 2014

Other selected rankings

Rank    ( /-)        Player                  Team     Pts        Avge      Highest Rating

21      ( 2)        Shannon Gabriel  Win        602*      34.27     636 v Eng at Headingley 2017

51      ( 1)        Mitchell Santner   NZ          344*!     37.05     344 v Win at Hamilton 2017

63=    ( 14)      Miguel Cummins  Win        262*      39.61     307 v Ind at Trinidad 2016

All-rounders (top five)

Rank    ( /-)          Player                 Team     Pts        Highest Rating

1         ( – )         Shakib Al Hasan  Ban        438       489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017

2         ( – )         Ravindra Jadeja   Ind         415       438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017

3         ( – )         Ben Stokes          Eng        380/*     396 v Win at Lord’s 2017

4         ( – )         R. Ashwin             Ind         369       493 v Eng at Mohali 2016

5         ( – )         Moeen Ali             Eng        352       409 v SA at Old Trafford 2017

*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.

! indicates career-highest rating

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