Rankings jump for Starc, Markram after Durban Test

Australia pace bowler Mitchell Starc has reached a career-best fifth position among bowlers in the ICC Test player rankings after his player-of-the-match performance in the Durban Test against South Africa helped his side win by 118 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

Starc finished with a match haul of 9/109, enabling him to overtake Proteas new-ball bowlers Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander among others, eclipsing his previous best sixth position that he enjoyed in December 2016.

Further, the left-hander’s 42 runs in the Test have not only helped him gain three slots to reach 74th position among batsmen but have also helped him make it to the top-five among all-rounders.

He is now on 312 points, 35 less than his tally when he was fourth on the all-rounders’ list in August 2016.

Other Australia players to have gained in the latest rankings update include the Marsh brothers.

Shaun Marsh has reached a career-best 16th position among batsmen with his 73 runs in the match while his brother Mitchell has moved up to 43rd place from his 56th rank before the Test, to also reach his highest ranking among batsmen thus far.

Mitchell has also gained one slot to reach 58th slot among bowlers.

For the Proteas, Aiden Markram’s scores of 32 and 143 have helped him gain 28 slots to reach a career-best 19th place.

Markram, who had led South Africa to victory in the U19 World Cup in 2014, has had a phenomenal rise as he sees himself in the top-20 after only his seventh Test, notching three centuries and two scores in the 90s.

In other movements, AB de Villiers’ first innings score of 71 not out was enough to pull him up one place to 12th position while Quinton de Kock has gained three slots to reach 22nd rank after scores of 20 and 83 in the match.

In the rankings for bowlers, Keshav Maharaj’s haul of nine wickets in the match has helped him rise up to 18th rank.

Batsmen (top 10) 

Rank (+/-)         Player  Team Pts Avge  Highest Rating
   1 ( – ) Steve Smith Aus  947!  63.41 947 v SA at Durban 2018
   2 ( – ) Virat Kohli Ind  912!  53.40 912 v SA at Johannesburg 2018
   3 ( – ) Joe Root Eng  881  53.28 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
   4 ( – ) K. Williamson NZ  855  50.62 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
   5 ( – ) David Warner Aus  833  48.63 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
   6 ( – ) C. Pujara Ind  810  50.51 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
   7 (+1) Azhar Ali Pak  755  46.62 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016
   8 (+1) Alastair Cook Eng  742  46.35 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
   9 (+1) Ross Taylor NZ  739  48.04 871 v Win at Hamilton 2013
  10 (-3) Hashim Amla SA  734  48.58 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

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