Herath leapfrogs Ashwin to ICC No.2 among Test bowlers: Gunaratne 79th Career Best Rankings
Sri Lanka has capped two individual player milestones with spinner Rangana Herath climbing to second spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Test Bowler Rankings, and batsman Asela Gunaratne reaching a career-high rank of 79th having gained 19 positions following the concluded one-off Test match Sri Lanka won against Zimbabwe by 4 wickets on Tuesday.
Herath’s latest milestone was by his eighth 10-wicket match haul against Zimbabwe that earned the left arm spinner the ‘Man of the Match’ award. It saw Herath leapfrog India’s Ravichandran Ashwin to move within 32 points of Ravindra Jadeja, making it a 1-2 for left-arm spinners in the latest rankings.
‘Man of the Match’ Asela Gunaratne upped his career-high rank to 79th after innings of 45 and 80 not out.
Significantly, 39-year-old Herath’s 11 for 249 in Colombo spiraled him up the top 10 bowlers list where England’s James Anderson and Australia’s Josh Hazlewood are the highest ranked pace bowlers in joint-fourth position. Herath, who has orbited in the planet of best bowlers having taken over the pivotal spin bowling mantle following Muttiah Muralitheran’s retirement is in the elite as the most successful left-arm spinner in Tests by a tally of 384 wickets in 81 matches.
Besides Herath, among other left-arm spinners who moved in the rankings were South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj’ up 12 slots to 26th position after claiming six wickets at Trent Bridge for 43 points – the fourth highest by a South Africa spinner since the country’s return to Test cricket in 1992; Paul Harris (705), Paul Adams (588) and Nicky Boje (545) are the only South.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe captain and leg-spinner Graeme Cremer did his country proud by his nine wickets against Sri Lanka to gain 20 places to a career-best 53rd slot while Anderson’s seven wickets at Trent Bridge have pushed him up one place from fifth position.
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( – ) R. Jadeja Ind 898 23.12 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
2 (+1) R. Herath SL 866 27.72 867 v Zim at Harare 2016
3 (-1) R. Ashwin Ind 865 25.22 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
4= (+1) J. Anderson Eng 826 28.27 884 v SL at Durham 2016
( – ) J. Hazlewood Aus 826 25.39 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017
6= (+1) Kagiso Rabada SA 785* 24.09 821 v SL at Johannesburg 2017
( – ) Stuart Broad Eng 785 28.67 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
8 ( – ) Dale Steyn SA 779 22.30 909 v WI at Centurion 2014
9 (+1) V. Philander SA 767 22.21 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
10 (-1) Neil Wagner NZ 745 28.90 767 v SA at Dunedin 2017
By Srian Obeyesekere
