Kraigg Brathwaite surges into top 20 of ICC Test rankings for first time

West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite has moved into the top 20 of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen for the first time after playing a stellar role in his team’s five-wicket win over Pakistan in the third and final Test in Sharjah that ended on Thursday.

Brathwaite, who became the first opener to remain unbeaten in both innings of a Test match with scores of 142 and 60, has gained 13 places to reach a career-best 19th rank while helping the West Indies pull one back in the series that Pakistan won 2-1.

Pakistan, which was top-ranked till India overtook it last month, has lost two points in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings despite the series win because it went in with a 44-point lead over the West Indies and the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference. But Pakistan remains in second position with 109 points, six points behind India and just one point ahead of third-placed Australia. The West Indies has gained two points to reach 69 points and remains in eighth position.

Brathwaite was not the only West Indies batsman to gain in the rankings led by Australia captain Steve Smith, as wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich has gained 27 slots to reach a career-best 58th position. He scored 47 and 60 not out and figured in an unbroken stand of 87 with Brathwaite to see the team through to a target of 153 in Sharjah.

For Pakistan, which has four batsmen in the top-20 – Younus Khan (fifth), captain Misbah-ul-Haq (10th), opener Azhar Ali (12th) and Asad Shafiq (17th), Sami Aslam moved up two positions to a career-best 60th position after scores of 74 and 17 in Sharjah.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer has moved up 24 places to a career-best 86th rank after scores of 102 not out and 43 in the first Test of a two-match series against Sri Lanka which ended in Harare on Wednesday.

Hamilton Masakadza too has gained one place to reach 42nd position after scores of 33 and 20, while for Sri Lanka, Dimuth Karunaratne has moved up 10 places to reach 41st rank and Kaushal Silva has moved up one place to 40th position. Karunaratne made 56 and 110 in Harare while Silva had scores of 94 and seven.

In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers led by India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz has gained four places to reach a career-best 24th rank. The left-arm pace bowler took seven wickets in Sharjah, including a haul of five for 88 in the first innings.

For the West Indies, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo has gained seven places to reach a career-best 29th rank after taking seven wickets in the match while captain Jason Holder’s haul of five for 30 in the second innings has helped him move up 12 positions to 47th rank.

Sri Lanka captain Rangana Herath has retained his fourth position in the rankings with six wickets in the match, while for Zimbabwe, Carl Mumba has moved up one position to 76th rank.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings (as of 4 November 2016, after the Pakistan-West Indies Test series)

Rank	Team	Points
1	India	115
2	Pakistan	109
3	Australia	108
4	England	105
5	South Africa	96
6	Sri Lanka	95
7	New Zealand	91
8	West Indies	69
9	Bangladesh	65
10	Zimbabwe	8

Batsmen (top 20)

Rank	Player	Team	Points
1	Steve Smith	Australia	906
2	Hashim Amla	South Africa	847
3	Kane Williamson	New Zealand	841
4	Joe Root	England	834
5	Younis Khan	Pakistan	832
6	Ajinkya Rahane	India	825
7	Adam Voges	Australia	802
7	AB de Villiers	South Africa	802
9	David Warner	Australia	772
10	Misbah-ul-Haq	Pakistan	744
11	Alastair Cook	England	738
12	Azhar Ali	Pakistan	733
13	Cheteshwar Pujara	India	731
14	Angelo Matthews	Sri Lanka	724
15	Virat Kohli	India	718
15	Jonny Bairstow	England	718
17	Asad Shafiq	Pakistan	691
18	Dinesh Chandimal	Sri Lanka	685
19	Kraigg Brathwaite	West Indies	677
20	Ross Taylor	New Zealand	675

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank	Player	Team	Points
1	R Ashwin	India	900
2	Dale Steyn	South Africa	878
3	James Anderson	England	853
4	Rangana Herath	Sri Lanka	832
5	Stuart Broad	England	821
6	Yasir Shah	Pakistan	820
7	Ravindra Jadeja	India	805
8	Mitchell Starc	Australia	792
9	Neil Wagner	New Zealand	731
10	Vernon Philander	South Africa	723