Josh Hazlewood Enters Top 10, Williamson Rises To Third Place In Rankings

Kane Williamson is now just two steps away from the top spot in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, which were released after the conclusion of the Dunedin and Hobart Tests.

Kane Williamson of New Zealand. Photo by WICB Media/Randy Brooks

Williamson has earned the rise to third place, just three points off South Africa’s AB de Villiers, thanks to two consistent knocks of 88 and 71, helping New Zealand extend its winning streak to 12 home Test victories in a row, after it beat Sri Lanka by 122 runs.

Williamson’s team-mate Martin Guptill has jumped up a remarkable 18 places, after scoring 156 and 46. Guptill was rewarded with only his second man of the match award in Tests.

Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum has moved up two places to 17th, while his Sri Lanka opposite number Angelo Matthews has marked the visiting side’s presence in the top 10 batsman rankings, down one place to seventh.

Over in Hobart, Australia skipper Steven Smith has tumbled three places to fourth and he is now just 11 points ahead of his team-mate David Warner.

But there was better news for Adam Voges who led the charge for Australia with a first innings double-century. The Western Australia batsman remained unbeaten on 269, thus ensuring his side did not need to bat again in the Test. Australia has taken a 1-0 lead in the series after beating West Indies by an innings and 212 runs.

Voges’ knock has vaulted him 19 places to a career-high 15th place in the latest rankings. Shaun Marsh supported Voges ably, scoring 182, and together the pair added a sixth-highest all time partnership of 449 runs. In the process, Marsh has risen 17 spots to a career best 37th in the batsman rankings.

West Indies Darren Bravo has been rewarded for being the lone centurion from his side, moving up two spots to 25th.

In the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Australia’s Josh Hazlewood has entered the top 10, rising up four spots after claiming seven wickets in Australia’s win over the West Indies, while off-spinner Nathan Lyon has moved up two spots into 15th after a three-wicket haul in Hobart.

Josh Hazelwood of Australia. Photo by WICB Media/Randy Brooks of Brooks Latouche Photography

New Zealand’s Trent Boult grabbed four wickets against Sri Lanka allowing him to retain sixth place as the top six spots in the bowler rankings has remained unchanged. Dale Steyn maintains pole position which he has done since December 2013, while Rangana Herath’s two wickets were enough to keep him in 10th position. Nuwan Pradeep’s four wickets in the first innings have earned him a six-point rise up the rankings to 53rd.

The all-rounders held steady in the top four positions, Ravindra Jadeja managing to move up a spot and enter the top five club, for a career best fifth place ranking and has Proteas’ Vernon Philander in his sights.

The second and final Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka starts in Hamilton (18-22 December) with the home side aiming to seal the win which would see it overtake England by a decimal point into fifth place on 99 points in the ICC Team Rankings.

ICC TEST PLAYER RANKINGS (as on 15 December, after Dunedin and Hobart Tests)

Batsmen
Rank   (+/-)           Player                   Team     Pts          Avge      HS Ranking
1           ( – )          Joe Root                                Eng         886          54.90      917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
2           (+1)         AB de Villiers          SA         881         51.39       935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
3           (+1)         K. Williamson         NZ        878          49.16      893 v Aus at Perth 2015
4           (-3)          Steven Smith         Aus       874          54.61      936 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
5           ( – )          David Warner       Aus         863          50.64     880 v NZ at Perth 2015
6           (+1)         Younus Khan         Pak       826          53.94     880 v SL at Lahore 2009
7           (-1)          A. Mathews            SL         814          50.46     877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
8           ( – )          Hashim Amla         SA         810          50.64     907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
9           ( – )          Alastair Cook         Eng       803          47.47     874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
10         (+1)         Misbah-ul-Haq      Pak       764         48.89     842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014

Selected rankings
Rank   (+/-)           Player                   Team      Pts        Avge   HS Ranking
11         (-1)          Ross Taylor          NZ         753        45.99     871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
15         (+19)      Adam Voges         Aus        720*!    76.83     720 v WI at Hobart 2015
17         (+2)         B  McCullum        NZ          697        38.73     760 v SL at Christchurch 2014
21         ( – )          D Chandimal        SL           690!       46.94     690 v NZ at Dunedin 2015
25         (+2)         Darren Bravo       WI         631          41.34    709 v Aus at Trinidad 2012
29         ( – )          D  Karunaratne     SL          607        35.97     619 v WI at Galle 2015
30         (+5)         Tom Latham        NZ         590*!    41.00     590 v SL at Dunedin 2015
31         (-3)          B J Watling          NZ            579        37.64     644 v Eng at Headingley 2015
35         (+7)         K Brathwaite        WI          556          33.76    591 v Eng at Grenada 2015
39         (+17)      Shaun Marsh        Aus         537*!    37.72     537 v WI at Hobart 2015
53         (+18)      Martin Guptill       NZ          441        30.60     597 v WI at Jamaica 2012

Bowlers
Rank   (+/-)           Player                  Team    Pts           Avge   HS Ranking
1           ( – )          Dale Steyn            SA           875        22.56     909 v WI at Centurion 2014
2           ( – )          R Ashwin               Ind          871!       25.39     871 v SA at Delhi 2015
3=        ( – )          J Anderson            Eng         846        28.96     847 v WI at Barbados 2015
( – )          Yasir Shah            Pak         846*!    24.17     846 v Eng at Sharjah 2015
5           ( – )          Stuart Broad         Eng         840        29.12     852 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
6           ( – )          Trent Boult           NZ          803        28.10     825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
7           (+4)         J Hazlewood         Aus         792*!    22.65     792 v WI at Hobart 2015
8           (-1)          R Jadeja                                Ind          789*!    23.76     789 v SA at Delhi 2015
9           ( – )          V Philander           SA           746        22.08     912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
10         (-2)          R  Herath              SL           739        29.66      851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014

Selected rankings
Rank   (+/-)           Player                   Team      Pts        Avge   HS Ranking
12         (+2)         T Southee              NZ          687          32.31    799 v WI at Jamaica 2014
15         (+2)         N Lyon                  Aus         641          33.78    648 v Eng at Melbourne 2013
16         ( – )          D Prasad                SL           626*        35.97    632 v WI at Colombo (PSS) 2015
17         (+1)         P Siddle                  Aus         619          30.06    816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013
23         (+3)         N Wagner              NZ          540*        34.01    549 v WI at Barbados 2014
53         (+6)         N  Pradeep            SL           331*!      46.77    331 v NZ at Dunedin 2015
88         (+28)      M Santner             NZ          166*!      25.33    166 v SL at Dunedin 2015
89         (+9)         D  Chameera        SL           160*!      43.77    160 v NZ at Dunedin 2015

All-rounders
Rank   (+/-)     Player                          Team     Pts          HS Ranking
1           ( – )          R Ashwin               Ind          406        419 v WI at Mumbai 2013
2           ( – )          S Al Hasan            Ban        384        419 v Zim at Khulna 2014
3           ( – )          S Broad                 Eng         315        382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
4           ( – )          V  Philander          SA           298*/     376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
5           (+1)         R Jadeja                                Ind          259*/*!  259 v SA at Delhi 2015

*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