Mohammad Abbas leads a trio of Pakistan fast bowlers who have moved up in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after contributing in a memorable nine-wicket victory over England in the Lord’s Test that ended on Sunday.
The 28-year-old Abbas’s player of the match haul of eight for 64 has helped him gain nine spots and reach a career-best 20th position after only seven Tests while Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali have also moved up after creditable shows in the first of two Tests.
Left-arm bowler Amir’s five wickets in the match have lifted him five places to 32nd position while Hasan Ali has gained 26 slots to reach 61st position after taking four first innings wickets. This is the career-best in Test matches for Hasan, who is currently ranked fourth in ODIs after having attained top rank in the format in October last year.
Among their batsmen, Asad Shafiq has risen six slots to 26th place after slamming 59 in his only innings of the match, while Harris Sohail has moved up 13 places to 80th rank after scores of 39 and 39 not out.
Babar Azam, who was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the wrist by a Ben Stokes delivery in the first innings and ruled out of the further part in the series, has moved up 14 places to 86th position after his 68-run contribution.
For England, Alastair Cook, a former number-two batsman, has gained one place to reach 15th position after scores of 70 and one while fast bowler James Anderson has retained his second slot with four wickets in the match but lost two points and is now eight points behind top-ranked Kagiso Rabada of South Africa.
Pakistan’s unbeatable lead in the series also gives them a chance to overtake England in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings. A 2-0 series result will take them from seventh to fifth position with 95 points while pushing England down to seventh position and 93 points. England started the series on 97 points while Pakistan was on 88.
The Test team rankings, unlike the ODI and T20I rankings, are updated after the end of the series and the Test predictor function is available here.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 28 May, after the Lord’s Test):
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Steve Smith Aus 929 61.37 947 v SA at Durban 2018
2 ( – ) Virat Kohli Ind 912! 53.40 912 v SA at Johannesburg 2018
3 ( – ) Joe Root Eng 854 52.34 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
4 ( – ) Kane Williamson NZ 847 50.35 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
5 ( – ) David Warner Aus 820 48.20 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
6 ( – ) AB de Villiers SA 813 50.66 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
7 ( – ) C. Pujara Ind 810 50.51 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
8 ( – ) Dean Elgar SA 784! 42.58 784 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
9 ( – ) Aiden Markram SA 759*! 55.55 759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
10 ( – ) Hashim Amla SA 726 48.03 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
15 (+1) Alastair Cook Eng 679 45.65 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
26 (+6) Asad Shafiq Pak 616 39.74 758 v Eng at Lord’s 2016
80 (+13) Haris Sohail Pak 392* 41.71 416 v SL at Abu Dhabi 2017
86 (+14) Babar Azam Pak 374*! 28.00 374 v Eng at Lord’s 2018
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Kagiso Rabada SA 897 21.59 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018
2 ( – ) James Anderson Eng 889 27.34 896 v Win at Lord’s 2017
3 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 845 21.46 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
4 ( – ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 844 23.73 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
5 ( – ) R. Ashwin Ind 803 25.56 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
6= ( – ) Morne Morkel SA 800! 27.66 800 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
( – ) Pat Cummins Aus 800*! 23.81 800 v SA at Johannesburg 2018
8 ( – ) Trent Boult NZ 795 27.84 825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
9 ( – ) Rangana Herath SL 777 28.18 867 v Zim at Harare 2016
10 ( – ) Neil Wagner NZ 765 28.26 785 v Win at Wellington 2017
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
20 (+9) M. Abbas Pak 644*! 16.62 644 v Eng at Lord’s 2018
32 (+5) M. Amir Pak 514* 31.16 658 v Eng at Lord’s 2010
61 (+26) Hasan Ali Pak 247*! 27.30 247 v Eng at Lord’s 2018
96= (+8) Shadab Khan Pak 107*! 48.00 107 v Eng at Lord’s 2018
All-rounders (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 421 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
2 ( – ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 391 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
3 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 372 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
4 ( – ) R. Ashwin Ind 368 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016
5 ( – ) Ben Stokes Eng 334/* 396 v Win at Lord’s 2017