A magnificent unbeaten double-century by Alistair Cook has helped him to finish the year inside the top 10 of the latest MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, which were released today following the conclusion of the Melbourne and Port Elizabeth Tests.
The 33-year-old left-handed opener scored 244 in his side’s first innings score of 491, which has helped him to rise nine places to eighth position. He will now start 2018 with South Africa’s seventh-ranked Hashim Amla firmly within his sights, who is 17 points ahead of the former England captain.
Cook had begun the year in 15th position, while he had entered the Ashes in 10th position.
Meanwhile, Steve Smith’s contributions of 76 and 102 not out have not only strengthened his position at the top of the table but also given him sole possession of second place for the highest-ever ranking points.
For his efforts in Melbourne, Smith earned two points and is now 14 points behind Don Bradman (961) and two points ahead of Len Hutton (945) in the all-time list.
England captain Joe Root is the other batsman to improve his ranking, when he moved up one place to join his opposite number from New Zealand, Kane Williamson, in fourth place. Root and Williamson had started 2017 in third and fourth positions, respectively.
Australia opener David Warner is sixth, 24 points behind Root and Williamson, after his scores of 103 and 86 earned him 30 points. Warner had started 2017 in fifth position.
In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, there is no change in the top nine with England’s James Anderson leading the field. Anderson had started the year on 810 points in sixth position and has finished on 892 points in number-one spot.
The spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Rangana Herath had started 2017 in the top three positions, and have finished at third, fourth and sixth places, respectively, while Australia’s Josh Hazlewood started and finished in fifth spot.
The only change in the top 10 is the return of South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel in 10th position. The 33-year-old claimed five for 21 in Zimbabwe’s first innings for which he has been rewarded with a rise of three places, which has now put him one place ahead of Dale Steyn. It is for the first time in nearly two years that Morkel is within the top 10.
Morkel’s team-mate Keshav Maharaj, who took five for 59 in Zimbabwe’s second innings, has gained two places and is now at a career-high 16th position.
Outside the top 20, Chris Woakes of England and Australia’s Pat Cummins have moved up three places each. Woakes is now in 28th place, while Cummins is now ranked 36th.
Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh is the number-one ranked all-rounder and he is followed by India’s Ravichandran Ashwin.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 31 December, following the Melbourne and Elizabeth Tests):
BATSMEN (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 947! 63.55 947 v Eng at Melbourne 2017
2 ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 893 53.75 895 v Ban at Hyderabad 2017
3 ( - ) C. Pujara Ind 873 52.96 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
4= ( - ) Kane Williamson NZ 855 50.62 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
(+1) Joe Root Eng 855 52.45 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
6 ( - ) David Warner Aus 831 48.72 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
7 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 776 49.61 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
8 (+9) Alastair Cook Eng 759 46.52 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
9 (-1) Azhar Ali Pak 755 46.62 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016
10 (-1) D. Chandimal SL 743! 43.94 743 v Ind at Delhi 2017
11 (-1) Ross Taylor NZ 739 48.04 871 v Win at Hamilton 2013
12 ( - ) Lokesh Rahul Ind 728* 44.62 761 v SL at Pallekele 2017
13 (-2) Dean Elgar SA 722 42.12 740 v NZ at Dunedin 2017
14 ( - ) Faf du Plessis SA 711 46.54 718 v Ban at Bloemfontein 2017
15 (-2) Quinton de Kock SA 708 43.83 802 v NZ at Hamilton 2017
16 (-1) Jonny Bairstow Eng 707 39.57 772 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
17 (-1) Kraigg Brathwaite Win 690 37.43 701 v Eng at Headingley 2017
18 (RE) AB de Villiers SA 689 50.47 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
19 (-1) Ajinkya Rahane Ind 662 44.15 825 v NZ at Indore 2016
20= ( - ) Tamim Iqbal Ban 655 39.25 709 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 655 40.38 694 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
SELECT RANKINGS
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating
27 (-8) Usman Khawaja Aus 630 42.95 747 v Pak at Sydney 2017
31 (-4) Shaun Marsh Aus 612 38.36 626 v Eng at Adelaide 2017
38 (-2) Moeen Ali Eng 578 33.20 655 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
40 (-1) Temba Bavuma SA 571 33.13 589 v Ban at Potchefstroom 2017
45 ( - ) Brendan Taylor Zim 534* 32.53 684 v Ban at Mirpur 2014
47 (-4) H. Masakadza Zim 531 29.77 559 v Win at Bulawayo 2017
49 (-3) Sikandar Raza Zim 510* 38.10 547 v Win at Bulawayo 2017
51 (-2) Craig Ervine Zim 505* 33.60 536 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2017
54 (+4) Aiden Markram SA 492*! 95.00 492 v Zim at Port Elizabeth 2017
56 (-4) Dawid Malan Eng 488* 33.66 501 v Aus at Perth 2017
65 ( - ) Mitchell Marsh Aus 440*! 27.06 440 v Eng at Melbourne 2017
69 (-3) Vernon Philander SA 423 25.44 457 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2017
BOWLERS (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 892 27.35 896 v Win at Lord's 2017
2 ( - ) Kagiso Rabada SA 883! 22.29 883 v Zim at Port Elizabeth 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 ( - ) Josh Hazlewood Aus 819 25.60 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017
6 ( - ) Rangana Herath SL 799 28.04 867 v Zim at Harare 2016
7 ( - ) Neil Wagner NZ 784 27.87 785 v Win at Wellington 2017
8 ( - ) Mitchell Starc Aus 774 27.52 805 v Pak at Brisbane 2016
9 ( - ) Nathan Lyon Aus 771 31.60 774 v Eng at Adelaide 2017
10 (+3) Morne Morkel SA 753 28.45 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
11 (-1) Dale Steyn SA 741 22.30 909 v Win at Centurion 2014
12 (-1) Vernon Philander SA 739 22.37 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
13 (-1) Trent Boult NZ 725 28.56 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
14 (+1) Stuart Broad Eng 711 29.10 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
15 (-1) Yasir Shah Pak 704 29.44 878 v Eng at Lord's 2016
16 (+2) Keshav Maharaj SA 695*! 25.03 695 v Zim at Port Elizabeth 2017
17 (-1) Tim Southee NZ 682 31.45 799 v Win at Jamaica 2014
18 (-1) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 668 32.35 705 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
19 ( - ) M.Shami Ind 630* 30.77 647 v SL at Kolkata 2017
20 ( - ) Kemar Roach Win 612 29.42 774 v SA at Centurion 2014
SELECTED RANKINGS
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating
28 (+3) Chris Woakes Eng 536* 33.75 609 v Pak at The Oval 2016
29 (-2) Moeen Ali Eng 535 39.55 633 v Win at Edgbaston 2017
36 (+3) Pat Cummins Aus 447*! 27.25 447 v Eng at Melbourne 2017
38 (-2) Steven Finn Eng 438 30.40 624 v NZ at Headingley 2013
46 (+1) Graeme Cremer Zim 366* 45.68 377 v Win at Bulawayo 2017
48 (-1) Duanne Olivier SA 349* 23.11 353 v Ban at Bloemfontein 2017
53 (-8) Jackson Bird Aus 337* 30.64 417 v Pak at Melbourne 2016
66 (-1) Mitchell Marsh Aus 245* 40.89 349 v Win at Melbourne 2015
ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points 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 (+1) R. Ashwin Ind 369 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016
4 (-1) Ben Stokes Eng 366 /* 396 v Win at Lord's 2017
5 (+1) Vernon Philander SA 313 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
*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
