Mitchell Starc is back on top of the ICC Test bowling rankings. He took the No. 1 spot from South Africa’s Marco Jansen. The update came after the third Test in Cape Town. Starc took nine wickets in that match, with figures of 6 for 72 and 3 for 65. Australia lost the Test by 176 runs and lost the series 2-1. Jansen had only just become the top-ranked bowler the week before. He was named Player of the Series for his 198 runs and 13 wickets across the three Tests.
Simon Harmer, Jansen’s teammate, had a big match in Cape Town. He took ten wickets and was named Player of the Match. That moved him up nine places to seventh among bowlers. His rating of 817 points is the second-highest ever by a South African spinner. Only Hugh Tayfield has done better, with 895 points back in February 1957. Harmer also moved up three spots to fifth in the allrounder rankings. Jansen is still No. 1 among all-rounders. Wiaan Mulder is third. Ravindra Jadeja is second and Mehidy Hasan is fourth.
There were changes in the ODI rankings too after the tri-series in Pakistan. Ben Duckett reached a career-best sixth after his 167 off 132 balls against Sri Lanka. Pavan Rathnayake made a big jump of 20 places to 16th after scores of 77 and 118. Fakhar Zaman’s match-winning 127 in the final moved him up nine spots to 37th.
After India’s T20I series in New Zealand, captain Shreyas Iyer moved up two places to seventh. He made a fifty in the fifth game. Glenn Phillips jumped 13 spots to 24th. He was named Player of the Series after scoring 341 runs in the five matches.
How Four Wickets in Six Balls Turn Cape Town Test Around?
Mitchell Starc turned the first day of the Cape Town Test on its head. South Africa were cruising at 140 for no loss at lunch. Many Australian fans went to bed expecting a bad scoreline. By stumps, South Africa were all out for 329. Starc took six wickets after lunch. That included four wickets in six balls with the second new ball.
South Africa chose to bat first after Australia put them in. They were 325 for 6 when Starc took the second new ball. Ryan Rickelton was on 41 and Marco Jansen on 51. They looked set to bat deep into day two. Starc had figures of 2 for 70 at that point. Then he went to work.
Here is what happened ball by ball in that spell. The first ball was short and wide. Rickelton drove it to a deep point for one. The second ball was short and straight. Jansen punched it to the deep point for one. The third ball was wide and short. The fourth ball was full and straight. It started on the leg stump and swung into Rickelton’s pad. He was out lbw for 41. He thought it was going down leg but the swing beat him completely.
Simon Harmer came in next and Starc bowled short and hit his thigh pad. They ran one. The sixth ball was full and swung away from Jansen before nipping back to hit his off-stump. The bail came off. It was a perfect delivery with pace, swing and seam. Starc had removed both set batters in one over.
The seventh ball was the start of Starc’s next over. He knocked over Gerald Coetzee for a golden duck. The ball was full and cramped him for the room. It swung late and hit his pads before ricocheting into the stumps. Kagiso Rabada came out for the hat-trick ball. The eighth ball was a bit shorter with less swing. The ninth ball was fuller again, and he was out lbw. That was four wickets in six balls. South Africa went from 325 for 6 to 329 all out.
FAQs
Q. Who is the No. 1 bowler in the latest ICC Test rankings?
A. Mitchell Starc has regained the top spot.
Q. How many wickets did Starc take in the third Test against South Africa?
A. Starc took nine wickets in the match.
Q. How many places did Simon Harmer climb in the Test bowling rankings?
A. Harmer moved up nine places to seventh.
Q. Who reached a career-best sixth position in the ODI batting rankings?
A. Ben Duckett reached sixth after scoring 167 against Sri Lanka.
Q. Which players improved their T20I batting rankings after the India-New Zealand series?
A. Shreyas Iyer moved to seventh, while Glenn Phillips climbed to 24th.
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