By Estea Rademeyer; Sports Journalist.
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has returned to the top of the ICC Men’1s Test Bowling Rankings, while South Africa’s Simon Harmer has made a significant climb following his match-winning performance in Cape Town.
Starc has reclaimed the No. 1 position from South Africa all-rounder Marco Jansen after an impressive showing in the third and final ICC World Test Championship encounter between the two sides.
Although Australia suffered a 176-run defeat to lose the series 2-1, Starc delivered an outstanding individual performance, taking six wickets for 72 runs in the first innings and three for 65 in the second. His nine wickets across the match were enough to move him back to the summit, just a week after Jansen had claimed the top ranking for the first time in his career.
South Africa, however, had plenty to celebrate in the latest rankings update, particularly following Harmer’s Player of the Match performance. The off-spinner’s maiden 10-wicket match haul has lifted him nine places to seventh in the Test bowling rankings.
Harmer now has 817 rating points, the second-highest tally ever recorded by a South African spinner. Only Hugh Tayfield, who reached 895 points in February 1957, has achieved a higher rating.
His outstanding performance has also boosted his position in the Test all-rounder rankings, where he has climbed three places to fifth. That puts three South Africans inside the top five, with Jansen leading the standings and Wiaan Mulder occupying third place.
India’s Ravindra Jadeja is second, while Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan sits fourth.
South Africans make gains in Test batting rankings
The latest rankings update also reflects several impressive batting performances from the Cape Town Test.
Mulder has climbed seven places to a career-best 17th position in the Test batting rankings after scoring 115 in the second innings. Fellow South African Ryan Rickelton has made an even bigger jump, advancing 25 places to 23rd following his contribution of 101 runs.
Marques Ackerman has surged 129 places to 69th after scoring 95 and 62 in the match, while Bangladesh’s Shadman Islam has moved up from 67th to 63rd.
Elsewhere in Test cricket, West Indies spinner Jomel Warrican has risen six places to 30th in the bowling rankings following his nine-wicket match haul against Bangladesh in Dhaka. His performance earned him Player of the Match honours as the West Indies secured an eight-wicket victory in the first Test.
Bangladesh bowlers Nayeem Hasan and Shoriful Islam have also made progress, moving up four places to 47th and three places to 54th, respectively. West Indies all-rounder Roston Chase has climbed six spots to 63rd.
Fakhar, Duckett and Rathnayake shine in ODI rankings
There have also been notable movements in the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings, with Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman, England’s Ben Duckett and Sri Lanka’s Pavan Rathnayake among the biggest gainers.
Fakhar has moved up nine places to 37th in the ODI batting rankings after producing a match-winning 127 in the final of the Pakistan ODI Tri-Series against Sri Lanka in Lahore.
Rathnayake has made an impressive 20-place jump to 16th. His rise follows scores of 118 against England and 77 against Pakistan, despite Sri Lanka losing the tri-series final.
England’s Duckett has reached a career-best sixth position after moving up one place. His 167 off 132 deliveries against Sri Lanka proved instrumental in his rise.
Tom Banton has also broken into the ODI batting top 50 for the first time, following a series of consistent performances.
In the bowling rankings, Namibia’s JJ Smit has made one of the biggest gains, climbing 44 places to joint-30th alongside India’s Jasprit Bumrah.
The left-arm seamer’s rise follows consecutive four-wicket hauls that helped Namibia secure a memorable 3-2 ODI series victory over Ireland in Windhoek.
Iyer and Duffy climb in T20I rankings
India captain Shreyas Iyer has moved up two places to seventh in the ICC Men’s T20I batting rankings after scoring 50 against New Zealand in Hamilton.
New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips has climbed 13 places to 24th, while Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza has gained 12 positions to reach 41st.
Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai has also made significant progress, rising 34 places to 59th after scoring an unbeaten 116 against Zimbabwe in Sharjah. His innings helped rescue Afghanistan after the side had slumped to five for four.
In the T20I bowling rankings, New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy has climbed 23 places to 23rd following his four-wicket haul in Auckland.
The latest ICC rankings update highlights the impact of individual performances across all three formats, with Starc returning to the top of Test bowling, Harmer strengthening South Africa’s presence among the leading all-rounders and several emerging performers making significant strides in the limited-overs rankings.