Lagatar24 Desk
Dubai, Jan 12: Kyle Jamieson of New Zealand has risen eight places in the ICC Men’s Test Rankings to a career-high third position following a strong performance in the two-match ICC World Test Championship series against Bangladesh, which finished in a 1-1 draw. After Richard Hadlee (909 points in November 1985), Neil Wagner (859 points in December 2019), Tim Southee (839 points in November 2021), and Trent Boult (839 points in November 2022), the 27-year-old finished with eight wickets, including six in the second Test in Christchurch (825 in May 2015).
Boult, a left-arm seam bowler, has moved up three places to 12th in the latest weekly update, which includes the fourth Ashes Test and the second Test between India and South Africa. He has nine wickets in the series.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin held on to his second spot.
Tom Latham has moved up two places to 11th rank among New Zealand hitters after scoring 267 runs in the series, while Devon Conway’s 244-run total, which includes two hundreds, has moved him up 18 places to 29th place after only five Tests. Ross Taylor finished his Test career in 28th place, after reaching a career high of fourth place with 871 rating points in December 2013.
Liton Das of Bangladesh has risen 17 places to a career-high 15th position with 196 runs, while Mominul Haque (up eight places to 37th) and Najmul Hossain (up 21 places to 87th) have also risen in the batters’ rankings.
Steve Smith has leapfrogged Kane Williamson to third among batters while Scott Boland has progressed 24 places to 49th among bowlers. Cameron Green, up 11 places to 89th among batters and 10 places to 75th among bowlers, is another Australia player gaining in the rankings.
Fast bowler Ebadot Hossain has climbed 17 places to 88th with nine wickets in the series, which saw New Zealand and Bangladesh finish sixth and seventh in the WTC points standings, respectively.
Usman Khawaja makes a spectacular return to the Australian side with a Player of the Match performance in the fourth Test between Australia and England in Sydney. With scores of 137 and 101 not out, the 35-year-old left-hander re-enters the rankings in 26th place, trailing only his compatriot Marnus Labuschagne.
Steve Smith has moved up to third place among batsmen, while Scott Boland has moved up 24 places to 49th place among bowlers. Cameron Green improved 11 spots to 89th among batters and 10 spots overall.
With scores of 66 and 60, England all-rounder Ben Stokes has moved up nine places to 18th among batters, while Jonny Bairstow’s innings of 113 and 41 have taken him up 16 places to 55th. Stuart Broad has moved up two places to 14th, while Mark Wood has moved up two places to 38th.
Dean Elgar, the captain of South Africa, returned to the top ten for the first time since January 2019 with a match-winning 96 not out in Johannesburg. After his first innings half-century, his compatriot Temba Bavuma has moved up four places to 35th.
Duanne Olivier, a fast bowler, has re-entered the bowlers’ list in 22nd place, with Lungi Ngidi (who has moved up three places to 27th) and Marco Jansen (who has moved up 43 places to 54th) also making progress.