Broad becomes number-one ranked Test bowler

Broad had entered the Johannesburg Test in third position on 853 points but, after figures of two for 82 and six for 17, the 29-year-old earned 27 points to leapfrog Ravichandran Ashwin of India and South Africa’s Dale Steyn into the top position. Broad now sits on 880 points and leads the India spinner by nine points.

Broad is the first England bowler since Steve Harmison to top the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers. Harmison had reached the top in 2004 and stayed there for 120 days. Before Harmison, Ian Botham had achieved the number-one ranking in 1980.

Broad has gained four places after earning 40 points since arriving in South Africa as he has picked up 15 wickets in three Tests to date.

Broad’s team-mate Ben Stokes has also improved his rankings. Stokes took three for 53 and two for 24, and scored 58 in his only innings in Johannesburg. As such, he has gained 10 places in the bowling chart and is now in 33rd spot, having moved up two places to 36th in the batting table. He has gained three places in the all-rounders’ category to claim sixth position – just three points behind India’s Ravindra Jadeja.

The only good news for South Africa is the movement of Kagiso Rabada. The fast bowler took five for 78 in the first innings, which means he has vaulted 28 places to 74th in the latest rankings.

In the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, England’s Joe Root has reclaimed second position after scoring his ninth century in his 38th Test. Root’s 110 helped England to take a slender 10-run lead for which he has been rewarded with a jump of two places.

Root had last achieved second position after the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2015, before reclaiming the top spot after the second Test in Dubai. Root had first topped the batting table after the Trent Bridge Test against Australia in August 2015. Root now trails number-one ranked Steve Smith by eight points and leads third-ranked Kane Williamson of New Zealand by two points.

South Africa’s Dean Elgar and Jonny Bairstow have also made gains in the latest rankings. Both the batsmen have moved up two places each with Elgar now in 26th position and Bairstow joining Faf du Plessis in 30th spot.

Meanwhile, when the ICC Test Championship table is updated following the conclusion of the Centurion Test, to be played from 22-26 January, India will replace South Africa as the number-one ranked Test side. This has been confirmed after England romped to a seven-wicket victory in the Johannesburg Test, which has given it a 2-0 lead in the four-Test series.

The best Test ranking South Africa can now achieve is second position, which will only be possible if it wins the Centurion Test. If the Test ends in a draw, then South Africa will drop to third position behind India and Australia, while a 3-0 series loss will result in it finishing in fourth place behind India, Australia and Pakistan.

In contrast, England will finish above New Zealand in fifth place irrespective of how the Centurion Test pans out.

This situation will be of tremendous interest to Australia, which now has an excellent chance to finish as the number-one ranked Test side at the 1 April cut-off date.

In the final Test series before action shifts to the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, Australia travels to New Zealand for a two-Test series, and if it wins the series, then it will not only claim the number-one position but with it will regain the prestigious ICC Test Championship mace and also win a cash award of $1million.

To find out exactly how the forthcoming series will affect the ICC Test Championship, please click here. Unlike the ODI and T20I rankings tables, the Test table is updated only after the conclusion of the series.

ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 17 January after Johannesburg Test)

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts         Ave        HS Rating

   1         ( - )        Steve Smith         Aus        899        57.90    936 v Eng at Lord's 2015

   2         (+2)       Joe Root               Eng        891        55.16    917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

   3         (-1)        Kane Williamson NZ         889        49.93    893 v Aus at Perth 2015

   4         (-1)        AB de Villiers     SA         863        51.10    935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

   5         ( - )        David Warner      Aus        854        51.34    880 v NZ at Perth 2015

   6         ( - )        Younus Khan       Pak        826       53.94    880 v SL at Lahore 2009

   7         (+1)       Angelo Mathews SL          808        50.18    877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014

   8         (-1)        Hashim Amla      SA         803        50.73    907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

   9         ( - )        Misbah-ul-Haq    Pak        764        48.89    842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014

  10=      ( - )        Ajinkya Rahane   Ind         753!      44.97    753 v SA at Delhi 2015

              ( - )        Adam Voges        Aus        753*!    85.66    753 v WI at Sydney 2016

Other selected rankings

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts         Avge      HS Rating

  15        (-3)        Alastair Cook      Eng        724        46.61    874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012

  26        (+2)       Dean Elgar           SA         626*!    38.37    626 v Eng at Johannesburg 2016

  30=      (+2)       Jonny Bairstow    Eng        589*!    34.00    589 v SA at Johannesburg 2016

              (-1)        Faf du Plessis      SA         589        41.02    710 v WI at Port Elizabeth 2014

  36        (+2)       Ben Stokes           Eng        568*     34.35    594 v Aus at Lord's 2015

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts         Avge      HS Rating

   1         (+2)       Stuart Broad        Eng        880!      28.54    880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016

   2         (-1)        R. Ashwin            Ind         871!      25.39    871 v SA at Delhi 2015

   3         (-1)        Dale Steyn           SA         850        22.53    909 v WI at Centurion 2014

   4         ( - )        Yasir Shah           Pak        846*!    24.17    846 v Eng at Sharjah 2015

   5         ( - )        James Anderson  Eng        810        29.13    847 v WI at Barbados 2015

   6         ( - )        Ravindra Jadeja   Ind         789*!    23.76    789 v SA at Delhi 2015

   7         ( - )        Trent Boult          NZ         787        28.28    825 v Eng at Lord's 2015

   8         ( - )        Josh Hazlewood  Aus        741*     24.54    792 v WI at Hobart 2015

   9         ( - )        Tim Southee        NZ         731        31.47    799 v WI at Jamaica 2014

  10        (-1)        Vernon Philander SA         724        22.08    912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

Other selected rankings

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts         Avge      HS Rating

  12        ( - )        Morne Morkel     SA         705        29.48    776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

  19        ( - )        Steven Finn         Eng        597        28.34    624 v NZ at Headingley 2013

  26        ( - )        Moeen Ali           Eng        517*     38.40    557 v SA at Durban 2015

  33        (+10)     Ben Stokes           Eng        450*!    39.38    450 v SA at Johannesburg 2016

All-rounders (top five)

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts         HS Rating

  1          ( - )        R. Ashwin            Ind         406       419 v WI at Mumbai 2013

   2         ( - )        Shakib Al Hasan  Ban        384       419 v Zim at Khulna 2014

   3         ( - )        Stuart Broad        Eng        330       382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012

   4         ( - )        Vernon Philander SA         281*/    376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014

   5         ( - )        Ravindra Jadeja   Ind         259*/*! 259 v SA at Delhi 2015