James Anderson has become the oldest No.1 bowler since the ICC rankings began in 1987, climbing to the top of the charts in the latest update.
The England quick achieved the feat at 40 years and 207 days after picking up seven wickets in the first Test against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui. Anderson grabbed 3-36 in the first innings and followed it up with 4-18 in 10.3 overs as England clinched their first win in the country since 2008.
Anderson, who had been dropped from the tour to West Indies last year after a disastrous Ashes campaign, has been unstoppable since his comeback. He was recalled to the team at the start of the summer in 2022 and has not gone wicketless in a game since, picking up 42 wickets in nine matches at an average of 16.16.
The recent ICC men’s Test bowling charts rewarded him for his consistency as he leapfrogged R Ashwin and Pat Cummins to become the new No.1 bowler. It is the sixth time that he has been crowned No.1, having first climbed to the top of the podium in 2016. He currently has 866 points, with a slender lead of two points over second-placed R Ashwin, who rose one place up.
Ravindra Jadeja, who picked up seven wickets in the second innings of the Delhi Test against Australia to spark a collapse, climbed seven places up to No.9. He is one of the three India bowlers in the top 10, with Jasprit Bumrah, who last played a Test against England in July 2022, at No.5.
Jadeja’s efforts also saw him achieve his career-best all-rounder points, getting to 460 rating points after the win in Delhi. He gained 36 points in the last week after his match-haul of ten wickets. Axar Patel, who contributed with 84 and 74 in the first two Tests against Australia, also achieved his best ever, rising to No.5 in the all-rounder’s list. Ashwin, who has taken 14 wickets in two Tests and also has 60 runs, is at No.2.
Batters Tom Blundell (11th) and Devon Conway (17th) achieved their highest Test ranking, while Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Ben Duckett have their best ratings.
CC Men’s Test Player Rankings (Batting)
1 Marnus Labuschagne – 912
2 Steve Smith – 875
3 Babar Azam – 862
4 Travis Head – 826
5 Joe Root – 814
6 Rishabh Pant – 781
7 Rohit Sharma – 777
8 Kane Williamson – 769
9 Dimuth Karunaratne – 748
10 Usman Khawaja – 746
ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings (Bowling)
1 James Anderson – 866
2 R Ashwin – 864
3 Pat Cummins – 858
4 Ollie Robinson – 820
5 Jasprit Bumrah – 795
6 Shaheen Afridi – 787
7 Kagiso Rabada – 776
8 Kyle Jamieson – 765
9 Ravindra Jadeja – 763
10 Mitchell Starc – 735
ICC Men’s Player Test Ranking (All-rounders)
1 Ravindra Jadeja – 460
2 Ravichandran Ashwin – 376
3 Shakib Al Hasan – 329
4 Ben Stokes – 320
5 Axar Patel – 283
6 Mitchell Starc – 265
7 Jason Holder – 264
8 Pat Cummins – 228
9 Kyle Mayers – 225
10 Joe Root – 209
