Australia's hopes of topping Test ranking dashed

Australia opener David Warner, who scored 133 in Australia’s first innings score of 303, has moved up one place to a career-high fourth position. He now has West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul firmly within his sights as only 12 ratings point separate the two left-handers.

Pakistan’s Younus Khan, who scored two centuries in the Test to become Pakistan’s most successful batsman in terms of centuries scored, has gained four places and has claimed seventh position. With captain Misbah-ul-Haq slipping one place to 11th, Younus is now Pakistan’s highest-ranked batsman.

Pakistan wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed and opener Ahmed Shehzad, who scored 109 and 131 respectively, have also made impressive gains.

Sarfraz, whose innings of 109 helped Pakistan score 454 after put into bat, has helped him rise 12 places to 38th, while Shehzad’s contribution of 131 in the second innings that allowed the home side to declare its second innings at 286 for two to set Australia a victory target of 438, has helped him rocket 14 places to 52nd.

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Pakistan’s spin duo of Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah have stormed up the charts.

Zulfiqar, who returned match figures of seven for 155, has jumped 46 places to claim 51st spot, while Yasir has entered in 62nd place following figures of three for 66 and four for 50.

Australia’s Mitchell Johnson has also been rewarded for his contribution of three wickets in the match and scores of 37 and 61. He has now moved ahead of England’s Stuart Broad in fourth position in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test All-rounders.

Pakistan’s victory in the Dubai Test has not only ensured that it will move ahead of India in fifth position irrespective of how the Abu Dhabi Test ends, it has dashed Australia hopes of regaining the number-one Test ranking.

To move ahead of South Africa, Australia had needed to win both the Test. Now, its best series result can be a one-all draw, which will keep it in second position but three points behind South Africa.

In contrast, if Pakistan wins the second Test, then it will leapfrog England, Sri Lanka and India into third position. A one-all draw will mean it will finish in fifth place on 99 ratings points – three ahead of India and two behind fourth-ranked Sri Lanka, while a drawn Test in Abu Dhabi will see Pakistan move to fourth place.

Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 27 October, after Dubai Test)

Batsmen

Rank    (+/-)        Player                  Team     Points    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         ( - )        S.Chanderpaul     WI         887        53.10    901 v NZ at Napier 2008

   4         (+1)       David Warner      Aus        875!      47.80    875 v Pak at Dubai 2014

   5         (-1)        Angelo Mathews SL          873!      52.65    873 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014

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

   7         (+4)       Younus Khan       Pak        810        52.47    880 v SL at Lahore 2009

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

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

  10        (-3)        Michael Clarke    Aus        776        50.89    900 v SL at Melbourne 2012

Selected Rankings

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

  11        (-1)        Misbah-ul-Haq    Pak        769        47.23    824 v SL at Sharjah 2014

  12        ( - )        Steven Smith       Aus        729        39.94    737 v SA at Cape Town 2014

  17        ( - )        Chris Rogers        Aus        668*     38.31    694 v Eng at Sydney 2014

  21        (+3)       Asad Shafiq         Pak        646        38.06    680 v SA at Cape Town 2013

  27        (-1)        Azhar Ali             Pak        610        38.51    753 v SL at Pallekele 2012

  38        (+12)     Sarfraz Ahmed    Pak        559*!     38.25    559 v Aus at Dubai 2014

  40        (-5)        Brad Haddin        Aus        543        34.71    637 v WI at Perth 2009

  52        (+14)     Ahmed Shehzad  Pak        472*!     41.08    472 v Aus at Dubai 2014

  63        (-6)        M. Hafeez            Pak        428        33.44    595 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2012

  77        (-2)        Shaun Marsh       Aus        376*      32.86    432 v SA at Centurion 2014

  82        (+9)       Mitchell Johnson Aus        355        22.82    477 v Eng at Lord's 2009

108       (-21)      Alex Doolan        Aus         279*      23.87    435 v SA at Centurion 2014

Bowlers

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

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

   2         ( - )        Ryan Harris         Aus        861        22.56    870 v SA at Cape Town 2014

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

   4         ( - )        Mitchell Johnson Aus        849!      27.38    849 v Pak at Dubai 2014

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

   6         ( - )        V. 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         ( - )        Stuart Broad        Eng        774        29.90    783 v WI at Lord's 2012

   9         ( - )        Kemar Roach       WI         768!      25.98    768 v Ban at St Lucia 2014

  10        ( - )        Saeed Ajmal        Pak        754        28.10    855 v Zim at Harare 2013

Selected Rankings

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

  12        ( - )        Peter Siddle         Aus        714        29.71    816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013

  21        (-3)        Nathan Lyon        Aus        573        34.34    648 v Eng at Melbourne 2013

  51        (+46)     Zulfiqar Babar     Pak        319*!    32.23    319 v Aus at Dubai 2014

  56        (-3)        M.Hafeez             Pak        286*     35.36    358 v SA at Cape Town 2013

  62        (NEW)   Yasir Shah           Pak        270*!    16.57    270 v Aus at Dubai 2014

  76        (+2)       Rahat Ali             Pak         215*     45.33    271 v Zim at Harare 2013

  87        (+1)       Steven Smith       Aus        150*!    48.08    150 v Pak at Dubai 2014

All-rounders

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Points    HS Rating

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

   2         ( - )        Shakib Al Hasan  Ban        350       404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011

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

   4         (+1)       Mitchell Johnson Aus        301       384 v Eng at Cardiff 2009

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

* indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.

! indicates career-highest rating