Pakistan’s Norman Ali has made a massive leap in the latest ICC Men’s Test Bowler Rankings following his match winning performance in the side’s 93 run victory over South Africa in Lahore.
According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), Pakistan spinner Noman Ali has reached a new career-high rating and closed in on the No.1 spot currently occupied by Jasprit Bumrah after making big gains on the latest ICC Men’s Test Bowler Rankings.
The left arm spinner, who picked up a 10-wicket haul during Pakistan’s 93-run triumph over South Africa in Lahore recently and moved up four places to second overall on the list for Test bowlers as a result.
Norman now has a total of 853 rating points and trails Bumrah by just 29 points at the head of the rankings for Test bowlers.
His teammate Shaheen Afridi also made significant progress, moving up three places to 19th on the same list for Test bowlers following his four-wicket haul in the second innings of that same match.
Pakistan’s batters too saw upward movement in the updated rankings. Mohammad Rizwan (up four spots to 16th), Babar Azam (up two runs to 22nd) and Salman Agha (up eight places to 30th) following their strong performance against Proteas. England’s veteran Joe Root continues to lead the Test batting rankings.
For the Proteas, Ryan Rickelton’s first innings 71 in the first Test against Pakistan has moved him into the top 50 batters list for the first time, while Tony de Zorsi’s century helped him up to 54th spot.
There were also changes to rankings lists in white-ball cricket this week, with Australian players rewarded for their victory over India in the ODI series opener in Perth and England players likewise for their T20I triumph against New Zealand in Christchurch, the website noted.
Stand-in skipper Mitchell Marsh gains two places to improve to 42nd overall on the list for ODI batters following his Player of the Match heroics on his home ground, while teammates Josh Hazlewood (jumps six spots to move to 10th) and Mitchell Starc (up four rungs to 21st) make ground on the rankings for ODI bowlers.
India’s Mohammed Siraj re-entered the ODI bowlers’ rankings in 17th position following his first appearance in over a year, while Bangladesh spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz (up six places to 18th) makes ground after his efforts against the West Indies across the last week.
In T20Is, England’s Harry Brook surged 18 places to move to equal 20th on the latest rankings after his match winning knock in Christchurch against New Zealand. Spinner Adil Rashid gained three spots to move to third on the list for T20I bowlers following the side’s victory.
