New Zealand left-arm quick Neil Wagner has moved up to No.3 among bowlers in the ICC Test rankings. He gained five places after bagging eight wickets, including a five-for in the second innings, to lead New Zealand to victory in the first-ever Test in Mount Maunganui. Wagner’s team-mate BJ Watling, who became the first New Zealand wicketkeeper to make a Test double-hundred, shot up 12 spots to be placed 12th among Test batsmen.
Watling had soaked up 473 balls in Mount Maunganui – only Sri Lanka’s Brendon Kuruppu has faced more balls than the New Zealander among wicketkeeper-batsmen in a Test innings. Watling’s effort took his points tally to a career-best 693. Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne also reached career-best points of 684 and slotted in at 21 – nine places behind Watling.
Labuschagne’s 185 in the Brisbane Test was central to Australia securing an innings victory over Pakistan. David Warner, who endured a horrid Ashes series in England, opened the home Test summer with 154 and consequently gained six places to move to 17th. Steven Smith continues to be the No.1-ranked Test batsman with 931 points. India captain Virat Kohli is hot on his heels, with 928 points, having hit a century in the first-ever pink-ball Test in India.
India opener Mayank Agarwal broke into the top ten for batsmen, also achieving career-best points of 700. Ishant Sharma, who took nine wickets in the pink-ball Test in Kolkata, moved from 20th to 17th while Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim gained four places to reach 26th among batsmen after making a counterattacking 74 in Kolkata.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo