ICC Test Rankings: Kane Williamson closes up on becoming top ranked batsman, Mitchell Johnson retires on a high

Shikhar Dhawan is the only Indian batsman who has had an improvement in the latest rankings

Kane Williamson of New Zealand and Australia’s David Warner have number-one ranked AB de Villiers firmly within their sights after achieving career-best rankings in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings, which were released today following the conclusion of the Bengaluru and Perth Tests.

Williamson has jumped three places to join Australia captain Steven Smith in second spot following scores of 166 and 32 not out, while Warner’s 253 and 24 have lifted him three places to fifth.

The top five batsmen, four of whom are likely to feature in the third Tests in Nagpur and Adelaide later this month, are now separated by just 19 points with Smith and Williamson trailing de Villiers by six points and Warner another 13 points behind. This means that the battle for the coveted number-one position, post the conclusion of the two series, remains tight as there will be a further reshuffle at the top of the order depending on how these batsmen perform.

Ross Taylor, who won the player of the match award at the WACA, has returned to the top 10 for the first time in 12 months. Taylor scored 290 and 36 not out, for which he has been rewarded with a jump of seven places that has put him in 10th spot.

Outside the top 20, there were movements for Adam Voges, Shikhar Dhawan and Usman Khawaja. Voges and Khawaja, who also scored centuries in Perth, have achieved career-best rankings to date by moving to 32nd and 47th positions, respectively, while Dhawan has gained five positions and is now in 33rd spot.

Mitchell Johnson retires on a high

In the bowling chart, India’s left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja has achieved a career-best ranking. Jadeja returned figures of 16-2-50-4 in a rain-affected Test, which has lifted him eight places to 13th in the latest rankings. Jadeja is now the third India bowler to feature inside the top 20 after Ravichandran Ashwin (fifth) and Ishant Sharma (20th).

New Zealand’s Doug Bracewell is the other bowler who has improved his rankings. The right-arm fast bowler took three wickets in the Perth Test and has now moved up six places to 41st.

South Africa’s Dale Steyn has retained his number-one position but has fallen from the 900-point mark for the first time since December 2013 after missing the Bengaluru Test. He is now on 893 points, still 47 points clear of his nearest rival James Anderson of England.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Mitchell Johnson has signed off on his international cricket on a high.

The left-arm fast bowler, who won the ICC Cricketer of the Year awards in 2009 and 2014, has finished in ninth bowling position, 84th batting spot and fifth in all-rounders’ category. March 2009 saw him rise to his career-best bowling, batting and all-rounders’ rankings of second, 44th and second, respectively.

In One-Day Internationals, Johnson, who won the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 as well as the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 with Australia, peaked at number-two in April 2009, while his highest ranking of fourth in Twenty20 Internationals was in May 2010.

Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh continues to lead the all-rounders’ field and while Vernon Philander has dropped to fourth after missing the Bengaluru Test, Jadeja has broken into the top 10 for the first time in his career in 10th position.

The ICC Test Player Rankings will now be updated following the conclusion of Nagpur and Adelaide Tests.

ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 18 November, after the conclusion of Bengaluru and Perth Tests)

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating

1 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 899 52.14 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

2= ( - ) Steven Smith Aus 893 56.08 936 v Eng at Lord's 2015

(+3) Kane Williamson NZ 893 49.26 893 v Aus at Perth 2015

4 (-1) Joe Root Eng 886 54.90 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

5 (+2) David Warner Aus 880! 51.28 880 v NZ at Perth 2015

6= (-2) Hashim Amla SA 851 51.66 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

( - ) Angelo Mathews SL 851 51.43 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014

8 ( - ) Younus Khan Pak 826 53.94 880 v SL at Lahore 2009

9 ( - ) Alastair Cook Eng 803 47.47 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012

10 (+7) Ross Taylor NZ 797 46.98 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013

Other selected rankings (top 50)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating

12 (-1) Murali Vijay Ind 747 42.83 747 v SA at Bengaluru 2015

14 (-1) C. Pujara Ind 725 49.48 851 v SA at Durban 2013

16 (-1) B. McCullum NZ 708 38.74 760 v SL at Christchurch 2014

17 (-1) Virat Kohli Ind 707 44.12 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014

21 (-1) Faf du Plessis SA 644* 46.75 710 v WI at Port Elizabeth 2014

24 ( - ) Ajinkya Rahane Ind 636* 41.51 699 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2015

27 (-2) BJ Watling NZ 608 39.14 644 v Eng at Headingley 2015

32 (+12) Adam Voges Aus 564* 61.20 564 v NZ at Perth 2015

33 (+5) Shikhar Dhawan Ind 560* 42.96 593 v SL at Galle 2015

35 (-1) Dean Elgar SA 558* 38.29 558 v Ind at Bengaluru 2015

39 (-4) Tom Latham NZ 537* 38.28 569 v Pak at Dubai 2014

47 (+18) Usman Khawaja Aus 471* 40.05 471 v NZ at Perth 2015

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating

1 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 893 22.56 909 v WI at Centurion 2014

2= ( - ) James Anderson Eng 846 28.96 847 v WI at Barbados 2015

( - ) Yasir Shah Pak 846* 24.17 846 v Eng at Sharjah 2015

4 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 840 29.12 852 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

5 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 806 27.29 808 v WI at Mumbai 2013

6 ( - ) Trent Boult NZ 781 28.86 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015

7 ( - ) V. Philander SA 761 22.08 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

8 (+1) Rangana Herath SL 751 29.49 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014

9 (-1) Mitchell Johnson Aus 744 28.40 849 v Pak at Dubai 2014

10 ( - ) Morne Morkel SA 690 29.76 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

Other selected rankings (top 50)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating

11 ( - ) Tim Southee NZ 687 32.28 799 v WI at Jamaica 2014

13 (+8) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 665* 26.19 665 v SA at Bengaluru 2015

14 (-1) Mitchell Starc Aus 653* 31.35 653 v NZ at Perth 2015

18 (-1) Nathan Lyon Aus 628 34.17 648 v Eng at Melbourne 2013

20 ( - ) Ishant Sharma Ind 597 36.71 671 v WI at Dominica 2011

21 (-3) Josh Hazlewood Aus 594* 26.02 634 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2015

34 ( - ) Amit Mishra Ind 432* 35.21 436 v SA at Mohali 2015

40 ( - ) Mark Craig NZ 397* 44.52 404 v Eng at Headingley 2015

41 (+6) Doug Bracewell NZ 383* 38.68 538 v WI at Jamaica 2012

44 (-2) Umesh Yadav Ind 375* 38.95 412 v Aus at Melbourne 2014

All-rounders (top three)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Rating

1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 384 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014

2 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 366 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013

3 (+1) Stuart Broad Eng 315 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012

4 (-1) V. Philander SA 310* 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014

5 ( - ) Mitchell Johnson Aus 247 384 v Eng at Cardiff 2009