Steve Smith closes in on top-ranked Indian skipper Virat Kohli in Test Rankings

Marnus Labuschagne, who batted in the second innings as Smith withdrew on being concussed, has also moved up 16 places to 82nd position after scoring a determined 59 that helped draw the second Test to ensure Australia retained a 1-0 lead in the five-match series that kicked off the ICC World Test Championship.

Travis Head, who advanced two places to 18th after an unbeaten 42 in the second innings, is another Australia batsman to move up the rankings while Pat Cummins has gained one place to reach fifth position in the all-rounders’ list.

For England, player of the match Ben Stokes has moved up six places to 26th after scores of 13 and 115 not out at Lord’s while wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow (up seven places to 30th), left-handed opener Rory Burns (up 17 places to 64th) and all-rounder Chris Woakes (up two places to 68th) have also moved up the rankings for batsmen.

Stuart Broad and Woakes have both gained two places in the bowlers’ list, moving up to 14th and 27thplaces, respectively, with four and three wickets in the match. Left-arm spinner Jack Leach’s four wickets have lifted him from 48th to 40th position while Jofra Archer has entered the rankings in 83rdplace after finishing with five wickets in his debut Test.

Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne’s player of the match effort of 39 and 122 at Galle has not only helped his team take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series with a six-wicket win but has also helped the opener move up four places to 8th position.

Former captain Angelo Mathews (up three places to 14th) and wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella (up five places to 33rd) have also moved up in the batting rankings while spinner Akila Dananjaya (up nine places to 36th) has made major gains among bowlers.

For New Zealand, left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel has advanced 14 slots to take 61st position after finishing with six wickets in Galle, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings.

Meanwhile, India could lose their top position in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings as even a 1-0 loss to the West Indies in their upcoming seires will see them slip to 108 points. That margin will be enough for the West Indies to overtake Pakistan to seventh position at 88 points.

Series scenarios:

India win 2-0 – India 115 points, West Indies 80 points
India win 1-0 – India 114, West Indies 82
West Indies win 1-0 – India 108, West Indies 88
West Indies win 2-0 - India 106, West Indies 90

MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings (as of 19 August, before the West Indies-India series):

Rank  TeamPoints
1India113
2New Zealand111
3South Africa108
4England105
5Australia98
6Sri Lanka94
7Pakistan84
8West Indies82
9Bangladesh65
10Zimbabwe16

*Afghanistan and Ireland have Test status but have not played enough matches to figure on the rankings table

(Developed by David Kendix)

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 19 August after the Galle and Lord’s Tests)

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank (+/-)PlayerTeamPtsAvgeHighest Rating
1( - )Virat Kohli India92253.76937 v Eng at Southampton 2018
2(+1)Steve SmithAustralia91363.24947 v SA at Durban 2018
3(-1)K WilliamsonNew Zealand88752.50915 v Ban at Hamilton 2019
4( - )C PujaraIndia88151.18888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
5( - )Henry NichollsNew Zealand77045.08778 v Ban at Wellington 2019
6(+2)Aiden MarkramSouth Africa719*43.80759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
7(+2)Q de KockSouth Africa71839.31802 v NZ at Hamilton 2017
8(+4)D KarunaratneSri Lanka71636.82754 v SA at Colombo (SSC) 2018
9(-3)Joe RootEngland71048.34917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
10( - )Faf du PlessisSouth Africa70242.95734 v India at Centurion 2018

Other selected rankings

Rank(+/-)PlayerTeamPtsAvgeHighest Rating
14(+3)A MathewsSri Lanka67445.05877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
18(+2)Travis HeadAustralia657*!49.87657 v Eng at Lord's 2019
26(+6)Ben StokesEngland62534.75664 v WI at Lord's 2017
30(+7)Jonny BairstowEngland59336.12772 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
33(+5)N DickwellaSri Lanka582!30.67582 v NZ at Galle 2019
64(+17)Rory BurnsEngland465*!29.88465 v Aus at Lord's 2019
68(+2)Chris WoakesEngland44830.56496 v India at Lord's 2018
82(+16)M LabuschagneAustralia404*!29.88404 v Eng at Lord's 2019

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank(+/-)PlayerTeamPtsAvgeHighest Rating
1( - )Pat CumminsAustralia914!21.32914 v Eng at Lord's 2019
2( - )Kagiso RabadaSouth Africa85121.77902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018
3( - )J AndersonEngland82326.94903 v India at Lord's 2018
4( - )V PhilanderSouth Africa81321.64912 v India at Johannesburg 2013
5(+1)R JadejaIndia79423.68899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
6(-1)Neil WagnerNew Zealand79327.51801 v Ban at Wellington 2019
7( - )Trent BoultNew Zealand78527.53825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
8=( - )Jason HolderWest Indies770*27.69778 v Eng at Antigua 2019
( - )M AbbasPakistan770*18.86838 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2018
10( - )R AshwinIndia76325.43904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016

Other selected rankings

Rank(+/-)PlayerTeamPts AvgeHighest Rating
14(+2)Stuart BroadEngland72128.74880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
27(+2)Chris WoakesEngland602*30.57609 v Pak at The Oval 2016
36(+9)A DananjayaSri Lanka479*!24.81479 v NZ at Galle 2019
40(+8)Jack LeachEngland422*!24.16422 v Aus at Lord's 2019
61(+14)Ajaz PatelNew Zealand285*!33.10285 v SL at Galle 2019
69=(+11)L EmbuldeniyaSri Lanka247*!32.30247 v NZ at Galle 2019
77=(+5)D de SilvaSri Lanka212*!47.16212 v NZ at Galle 2019
83(NEW)Jofra ArcherEngland185*!18.20185 v Aus at Lord's 2019

All-rounders (top five)

Rank(+/-)Player TeamPtsHighest Rating
1( - )Jason HolderWest Indies439/*448 v Eng at Antigua 2019
2( - )S Al HasanBangladesh399489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
3( - )R JadejaIndia387438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
4( - )Ben StokesEngland367395 v WI at Lord's 2017
5(+1)Pat CumminsAustralia339*/!339 v Eng at Lord's 2019