Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: New Zealand’s Ross Taylor has warmed-up for the upcoming three-Test series against Pakistan by achieving a career-high position in the latest ICC Men’s Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen, which were released on Tuesday. The 34-year-old middle-order batsman had started the series in sixth position, but after scores of 80 and 86 not out, he has leapfrogged Joe Root, Babar Azam and David Warner to third position. This is his career-best ranking, which has come after 207 ODIs in which he has scored 7,433 runs. The former captain had earlier reached fifth place this June.

Taylor, reacting to the news, said in a statement: “First and foremost you want to win games, you don’t go out there to try to get your rankings up there. But I guess, at this stage of my career, it is nice to know that I am still able to compete. I think as you come towards the end of your career, you’ve worked your game out and you try to enjoy yourself a bit more. I’m not sure how many years I may have left so I’m trying to make the most of every opportunity. It’s obviously nice to achieve a areer-high ranking, but at the same time I hope there’re a few more runs left in me.”

Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman is the other batsman to achieve a career-best ranking to date from the series in the UAE, which ended at one-all after the decider in Dubai was washed-out. The left-handed opener had scores of one, 88 and 65, which have lifted him six places to 11th in the latest rankings. The 28-year-old, however, will not be part of the Test squad. Similarly, Shadab Khan has achieved a career-high bowling ranking but will not feature in the upcoming Tests. The wrist spinner bagged six wickets in the series, including four for 38 in the second match, to vault 16 places to 24th position.

The other bowler to make an impact in the ODIs and one to look out for in the Tests is Lachlan Ferguson. The New Zealand fast bowler had figures of three for 40, three for 60 and five for 45 during the series, which also reflect in the latest rankings, in which he has rocketed 31 places to 42nd. Shaheen Afridi, who took nine wickets in the series and won the player of the series award, has risen 66 places to sit just outside the top-100 in 118th position. However, Trent Boult and Hasan Ali have been unable to either defend or improve their rankings. Boult had made a dream start to his season when he took a hat-trick in only his second over. However, he managed to add just one more wicket to his tally and consequently finished in seventh position after starting in fourth place.

Hasan, who had started the year with a number one ranking, has continued to slide. After falling three places following his four wickets, he is now ranked 13th, but remains his side’s highest-ranked bowler. Down Under, South Africa defeated Australia 2-1 in a three-match series, with the series-decider in Hobart producing scintillating centuries from Faf du Plessis, David Miller and Shaun Marsh. Du Plessis scored 125 in the run feast and finished with a series aggregate of 182 runs that has put him in seventh position with a rise of three places. Miller scored 139 and ended as the leading run-scorer with 192 runs, which have been rewarded in the rankings with a rise of 11 places that puts him in 31st position.
Marsh scored 106 to end the series with 128 runs and in 62nd position after starting in 80th place. South Africa’s series win is also reflected in the bowling table in which Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Andile Phehlukwayo Lungi Ngidi and Dwaine Pretorius have made upward movements, while Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have headed in the wrong direction. Rabada’s haul of seven wickets have helped him move from sixth position to fourth, Steyn’s series figures of seven for 94 have lifted him nine places to 15th, Phehlukwayo’s three wickets in his only appearance have helped him gain six place to 28th spot, Ngidi has occupied 43rd position after earning a rise of 19 places following his four wickets and Pretorius has finished in 55th spot after gaining 20 places with five wickets in the series.

In contrast, Hazlewood has slipped four places to ninth, Starc has fallen three places to 17th and Cummins has dropped one place to 19th. However, Marcus Stoinis has enhanced his reputation as a world-class all-rounder in the making by finishing in 17th place after starting in 40th spot. This is after he ended in 49th batting position (up by three places) and 85th bowling position (up by 37 places). Virat Kohli is the number-one ranked ODI batsman, while Jasprit Bumrah is the top-ranked bowler. Rashid Khan is the leading all-rounder.

ICC ODI Team Rankings

Rank               Team                    Points

1                          England                          126
2                           India                              121
3                       New Zealand                    112
4                       South Africa                     111
5                       Pakistan                            102
6                       Australia                           100
7                       Bangladesh                        93
8                      Sri Lanka                            79
9                      West Indies                        72
10                    Afghanistan                       67
11                     Zimbabwe                           52
12                     Ireland                                39
13                     Scotland                              33
14                      UAE                                     21

Nepal will qualify for a full ranking after playing one more ODI, the Netherlands will qualify for a full
ranking after playing two more matches.

Published in Daily Times, November 14^th 2018.