Stuart Broad’s stunning spell in the third Test against South Africa has made him the first England bowler to be ranked number one in the world for more than a decade.
Broad’s second-innings figures of 6-17, which included a spell of five wickets for a solitary run, guided England to an seven-wicket victory in Johannesburg.
And they have also propelled Broad to the top of the ICC Test bowling rankings, a position not held by an England player since Steven Harmison in 2004.
The 29-year-old Broad was third in the world ahead of the Test at the Wanderers, where the tourists claimed an unassailable 2-0 series lead, but moved ahead of Dale Steyn and Ravichandran Ashwin with eight match wickets.
Before Harmison, Ian Botham had achieved the number-one ranking in 1980.
Broad is not the only English player on the move after downing the world’s number one Test side. Ben Stokes took five wickets in the match to climb 10 places in the bowling rankings to 33rd.
Having also made a half-century, the Durham man is also up to sixth in the all-rounder category.
In the batting category, Joe Root’s ninth Test century has moved him back up to second in the world – just eight points behind Australia’s Steven Smith.
Jonny Bairstow’s good form with the bat has seen him climb two places into a share of 30th.
Meanwhile, England’s series win means the Proteas will be replaced at the top of the Test rankings by India whatever the result of the Centurion Test, while the tourists will overtake New Zealand in fifth position.
Source: ECB