Root, Ballance, Mathews and Herath achieve personal milestones

Root scored an unbeaten 149 at The Oval, his fifth century in 22 Tests, for which he not only won the player of the match award but also got a rise of five places that has put him in ninth position.

Root had entered the series against India in 26th position on 610 ratings points. In seven innings of five Tests, the 23-year-old, who also played in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2010 in New Zealand, amassed 518 runs with two centuries and three half-centuries. He consequently finished in ninth position and on 789 ratings points, thus gaining 17 places and 179 ratings points.

Overall, Root has climbed 29 places and has earned 231 ratings points in the seven Tests England has played this summer.

Root is not the only England batsman to make an upward movement.

Captain Alastair Cook, who scored 79, has jumped four places to 21st in the latest rankings, while Gary Ballance has finished in 24th spot after rising five places following his contribution of 64.

The other notable movement in the top 10 batsmen was from Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, who has achieved a career-best third position. Mathews scored 39 and 43 not out in Colombo, and was rewarded with a rise of two places that has elevated him into third position.

Outside the top 20, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has finished the series in 28th position after his first innings contribution of 82 earned him four places on the table.

Pakistan wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed and Sri Lanka opener Upul Tharanga also impressed with the bat in Colombo. Sarfraz has rocketed 29 places to 51st spot after scores of 103 and 55, while Tharanga has vaulted 49 places to 52nd after scoring 92 and 45.

Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara holds the number-one batting position, while AB de Villiers of South Africa is in second spot.

Meanwhile, in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath has achieved a career-best ranking.

The left-arm spinner put in a fine performance and recorded figures of nine for 127 and five for 57. This performance not only gave Sri Lanka a comfortable 105 runs victory but has also helped him move up two places to third.

Other notable movers include Stuart Broad in eighth (up by one place), Junaid Khan 16th (up by one place), Moeen Ali in 32nd (up by one place) and Chris Jordan in 59th position (up by 36 places).

The bowling table is headed by South Africa’s Dale Steyn, who leads Australia’s Ryan Harris.

Jayawardena retires in 15th position

Mahela Jayawardena has signed off on his illustrious Test career in 15th position. The right-hander represented Sri Lanka in 149 Tests. At 11,814 runs, he sits in seventh place on the all-time list of most run-getters.

In his final Test, the 37-year-old fell both times to Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal after scoring four and 54. This meant a loss of one place for him on the table.

Jayawardena topped the batting chart in November 2009 following his 275 against India in Ahmedabad. This was his 109th Test, which also earned him a career-high 883 ratings points and put him in 39th position in the list of Reliance ICC Best-Ever Test Championship Rating.

Jayawardena on the Rankings table:

·         He first reached the top ten in August 2000 after Sri Lanka drew the third Test and the series against South Africa in Colombo

·         He spent 8 days as the top-ranked batsman in Test cricket in November 2009

·         His highest points tally was 883 which he achieved at the same time

·         He took over from team-mate Kumar Sangakkara but soon lost top spot to India’s Gautam Gambhir

·         He ends his career in 15th place

Reliance ICC Test Team Championship

England and Sri Lanka have improved their positions on the Reliance ICC Test Team Championship after winning their series against India and Pakistan, respectively.

England defeated India by 3-1 in the series that finished at The Oval on Sunday, while Sri Lanka beat Pakistan 2-0 in Colombo on Monday.

These results mean England has vaulted two places to third, while Sri Lanka has moved up one place to fourth. In contrast, India has slipped one place to fifth while Pakistan has dropped two places to sixth.

The 3-1 series win earned England four ratings points but India conceded six ratings points, while Sri Lanka gained six ratings points and Pakistan was docked seven ratings points.

England now leads Sri Lanka by three ratings points, while the latter is ahead of India and Pakistan by five ratings points. India and Pakistan are on equal ratings points at 96, but MS Dhoni’s side is ranked ahead of Misbah-ul-Haq’s side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

Number-one ranked South Africa is sitting on top of the table, but Australia is just one ratings points behind. Michael Clarke’s side will  have one eye on the number-one spot when it arrives in the UAE in October, but to regain the coveted position, it will have to win both the Tests against Pakistan.

The table in the middle is tight with 11 ratings points separating third-ranked England from seventh-ranked New Zealand. With a lot of Test cricket to be played over the next five months, further changes to the Championship table is on the cards.

Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings table (as on 18 August, after the conclusion of England-India and Sri Lanka-Pakistan Test series)

Rank   Team              Rating   

1          South Africa   124           

2          Australia          123         

3          England           104

4          Sri Lanka         101

5          India                96

6          Pakistan           96

7          New Zealand   93

8          West Indies     74

9          Zimbabwe       39

10        Bangladesh     21

(Developed by David Kendix)

Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings (after The Oval and Colombo Tests)

Batsmen

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

   1           ( - )          K. Sangakkara     SL           915         58.76     938 v Eng at Kandy 2007

   2           ( - )          AB de Villiers        SA           888         51.02     935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

   3           (+2)         Angelo Mathews  SL           873!       52.65     873 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014

   4           (-1)          David Warner       Aus         871!       46.54     871 v SA at Cape Town 2014

   5           (-1)          Hashim Amla       SA           863          51.32     907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

   6           ( - )          S.Chanderpaul     WI          854         51.88     901 v NZ at Napier 2008

   7           ( - )          Michael Clarke    Aus         818         51.50     900 v SL at Melbourne 2012

   8           (+1)         Ross Taylor          NZ          795         46.43     871 v WI at Hamilton 2013

   9           (+5)         Joe Root                                Eng         789!       50.94     789 v Ind at The Oval 2014

  10         (-2)          Misbah-ul-Haq    Pak         762        46.92     824 v SL at Sharjah 2014

  11         (-1)          Younus Khan       Pak         759         51.41     880 v SL at Lahore 2009

  12         (-1)          Steven Smith        Aus         737*!    40.02     737 v SA at Cape Town 2014

  13         ( - )          Kane Williamson NZ          728 !      40.28     728 v WI at Bridgetown 2014

  14         (+2)         Faf du Plessis        SA           707*!    52.58     707 v Zim at Harare 2014

  15         (-1)          M.Jayawardena   SL           702         49.84     883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009

  16         (-4)          C.Pujara                                Ind          691         49.26     851 v SA at Durban 2013

  17         ( - )          Chris Rogers         Aus         675*      38.14     694 v Eng at Sydney 2014

  18=       (+1)         Brendan Taylor   Zim         652*!    35.73     652 v SA at Harare 2014

                ( - )          Ian Bell                  Eng         652         45.00     822 v Ind at The Oval 2011

  20         ( - )          B.McCullum         NZ          651         37.10     724 v Ind at Wellington 2014

Selected rankings

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

  21         (+4)         Alastair Cook       Eng         643         46.02     874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012

  24         (+5)         Gary Ballance      Eng         622*!    60.75     622 v Ind at The Oval 2014

  25         (+1)         Asad Shafiq          Pak         621         36.85     680 v SA at Cape Town 2013

  26         (-5)          Virat Kohli            Ind          618         39.46     784 v NZ at Wellington 2014

  27         (-3)          Azhar Ali               Pak         611         38.41     753 v SL at Pallekele 2012

  28         (+4)         MS Dhoni              Ind          607         38.46     662 v SA at Kolkata 2010

  34         (-4)          Murali Vijay         Ind          569         36.29     652 v Eng at Lord's 2014

  40         (+2)         Kaushal Silva       SL           541*!    36.69     541 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014

  43         (-9)          Ajinkya Rahane  Ind          531*      39.88     612 v Eng at The Rose Bowl 2014

  47         (+1)         Rohit Sharma       Ind          504*      48.90     578 v NZ at Wellington 2014

  48         (-3)          R. Ashwin              Ind          503*      38.86     527 v Eng at Old Trafford 2014

  51         (+29)      Sarfraz Ahmed    Pak         482*!    32.53     482 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2014

  52         (+49)      Upul Tharanga     SL           476*      30.87     508 v Ban at Bogra 2006

  54         (-3)          Gautam Gambhir                Ind          460         42.58     886 v SL at Kanpur 2009

  55         (+1)         Jos Buttler             Eng         455*!    66.66     455 v Ind at The Oval 2014

  65         (-5)          P.Jayawardena    SL           421         30.51     510 v Eng at Galle 2012

  67         (+11)      Ahmed Shehzad  Pak         399*      35.90     403 v SL at Sharjah 2014

  69         (-4)          K.Manzoor           Pak         392*      28.17     467 v SA at Abu Dhabi 2013

  73         (+2)         Stuart Broad         Eng         382         24.09     505 v Ind at The Oval 2011

  76         (-5)          D.Karunaratne     SL           378*      30.47     393 v Eng at Headingley 2014

  97         (-1)          Moeen Ali             Eng         312*      31.77     341 v Ind at Lord's 2014

  99         (+8)         Sam Robson         Eng         301*      30.54     347 v Ind at Trent Bridge 2014

Bowlers

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

   1           ( - )          Dale Steyn            SA           907         22.56     908 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013

   2           ( - )          Ryan Harris          Aus         870!       22.56     870 v SA at Cape Town 2014

   3           (+2)         Rangana Herath  SL           851!       29.06     851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014

   4           (-1)          Mitchell Johnson Aus         844!       27.42     844 v SA at Cape Town 2014

   5           (-1)          James Anderson  Eng         806         29.72     813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011

   6           ( - )          Vernon Philander SA           785         21.57     912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

   7           ( - )          Tim Southee         NZ          783         29.83     799 v WI at Kingston 2014

   8           (+1)         Stuart Broad         Eng         774         29.90     783 v WI at Lord's 2012

   9           (-1)          Saeed Ajmal         Pak         762         28.10     855 v Zim at Harare 2013

  10         ( - )          Trent Boult           NZ          737*      27.45     767 v Ind at Wellington 2014

  11=       ( - )          Kemar Roach       WI          733!       27.04     733 v NZ at Bridgetown 2014

                ( - )          Peter Siddle           Aus         733         29.37     816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013

  13         (+1)         R.Ashwin               Ind          710         28.65     808 v WI at Mumbai 2013

  14         (-1)          Morne Morkel      SA           707         29.90     776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

  15         ( - )          Pragyan Ojha       Ind          691         30.26     773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012

  16         (+1)         Junaid Khan         Pak         652*!    28.83     652 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2014

  17         (-1)          Abdur Rehman    Pak         650*      29.39     739 v Eng at Dubai 2012

  18         ( - )          Shakib Al Hasan Ban        613         33.36     680 v WI at Mirpur 2011

  19         ( - )          Nathan Lyon        Aus         607         32.99     648 v Eng at Melbourne 2013

  20         ( - )          Ishant Sharma     Ind          588         36.75     671 v WI at Dominica 2011

Selected rankings

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

  25         (-1)          Dilruwan Perera   SL           511*      30.08     531 v Pak at Galle 2014

  27         (-1)          Ravindra Jadeja  Ind          505*      30.37     570 v SA at Durban 2013

  28         ( - )          Shaminda Eranga               SL           480*      34.22     541 v Eng at Headingley 2014

  32         (+1)         Moeen Ali             Eng         440*      28.09     441 v Ind at Old Trafford 2014

  34         (-2)          B. Kumar              Ind          409*      30.25     443 v Eng at Old Trafford 2014

  37         (RE)        C.Welegedara       SL           398*      41.32     492 v SA at Durban 2011

  50         (-1)          Liam Plunkett      Eng         325*      37.46     335 v Ind at Lord's 2014

  55         (RE)        Wahab Riaz         Pak         290*      32.34     312 v NZ at Hamilton 2011

  56         ( - )          D.Prasad                SL           285*!    48.36     285 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014

  59         (+36)      Chris Jordan         Eng         274*!    33.06     274 v Ind at The Oval 2014

  86         (-4)          Angelo Mathews  SL           142*      61.78     151 v SA at Galle 2014

  90         (-1)          Varun Aaron        Ind          132*!    47.37     132 v Eng at The Oval 2014

All-rounders

Rank      (+/-)        Player                   Team     Pts          HS Rating

   1           (+1)         Shakib Al Hasan Ban        364        404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011

   2           (-1)          R.Ashwin               Ind          357*/    419 v WI at Mumbai 2013

   3           ( - )          Vernon Philander SA           348*/    376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014

   4           ( - )          Stuart Broad         Eng         296        382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012

   5           ( - )          Mitchell Johnson Aus         280        384 v Eng at Cardiff 2009

*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after a minimum of 40 started innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating after he has conceded 1,500 runs.

!indicates career-highest rating