Newly crowned Allan Border medallist Pat Cummins has become the first Australian bowler to top the ICC Test bowling rankings in 13 years.
Cummins’ rating of 878 in the latest rankings put him ahead of veteran Englishman James Anderson, who slightly improved his rating from 860 to 862.
Kasigo Rabada dropped 33 ratings points to 849 to slide from first to third after he collected 3-145 in South Africa’s one-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in the first Test in Durban.
The last Australian to be the highest-ranked Test bowler was Glenn McGrath in 2006, while Mitchell Johnson climbed to second in March 2009.
Cummins’ fellow Test pacemen Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are ranked 12th and 15th respectively.
The Australian trio’s next chance to impress at Test level won’t come until August, when the Ashes begin in Birmingham.
Offspinner Nathan Lyon is ranked 19th.
ICC TEST BOWLER RANKINGS
1. Pat Cummins (878 points)
2. Jimmy Anderson (862)
3. Kagiso Rabada (849)
4. Vernon Philander (821)
5. Ravindra Jadeja (794)
Neel
Roar Guru
Rababa has been a bit down on performance in the last couple of Test matches. Cummins though. He is an inspiration for the team. I can’t wait to see what he does in England.
Kandeepan Arul
Roar Rookie
Tend to agree with you that there is a flaw here. During the last 2 years Jadeja has played in just 15 out of the 25 tests that India played and averaged 23. Lyon played in all 23 of the test matches that Australia played and averaged 28. India tend to use Jadeja selectively on pitches that will suit him whereas Lyon is expected to toil away on all pitches. Bit like comparing a fast bowler who only plays on green pitches vs one that plays on all wickets.
Kandeepan Arul
Roar Rookie
oops.. sorry I only realised he's been playing for 12 months after I typed my comment
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Which makes Lyon's low position even stranger.
VivGilchrist
Roar Rookie
Please understand... it’s gauged over a period of time, not just one series.
Kandeepan Arul
Roar Rookie
Surprised Bumrah is not in the top 5 considering what he did in Australia.
Nudge
Roar Rookie
Yeah was thinking of qwetzen when I read the headline. He was questioning his position in the side at the start of the summer. He has gone very quiet the past month. Very amusing comments from that article you sent the link for Ronan.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Check the comments section: http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/03/30/cummins-might-australias-version-akram-ambrose/
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Can’t see anything wrong with suspended players filling high positions. Their ratings slowly drop, match by match, if they don’t play. So Smith’s has dropped from around the 920 mark when the suspension happened, down to 857 now. The official website does say that players who don’t play during the “qualifying period” (it says around 12-15 months for test cricket) will be dropped off, but their ratings won’t be affected, they will still just keep gradually going down, match by match, and when they play again they’ll suddenly show up in the list again. Also, as far as the ICC are concerned they aren’t actually actually suspended. Smith got a 1 game suspension, Warner didn’t get any. It’s CA who gave the big suspension. So as far as the ICC is concerned, and therefore the rankings, they really are no different than a player just not getting selected at the moment.
The Bush
Roar Guru
Surprising that Johnson didn't climb to the top of the rankings in 2014 after his run in the Ashes and South Africa. Shows that you do need to sustain your form for a decent period of time to climb to the top. Well done to Cummins. One thing I'd say about the bowling rankings for Australia v other sides, is that Australia's very good bowling line ups mean it's difficult for a single players to really dominate and pick up lots of points. It's probably no coincidence that Cummins has pulled away, as not only is he bowling well, but his fellow bowlers have not been up to scratch lately (at least the fast bowlers), which has present more opportunities for him to take more wickets.
The Bush
Roar Guru
There are 9 regular test playing nations (Zimbabwe, Ireland Afghanistan not playing enough to really feature). Each would field anywhere from 6 to 10 regular top order batsmen, not including 'keepers. That's anywhere from 54 to 90 top order batsmen alone, not including 'keepers and genuine bowling all rounders like Jedaja and Aswhin. Why is Cummins at 92 such a surprise? The kids got talent, but these rankings reflect performance over a two year period, not just a few recent runs.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Although, Shaun's form was not too bad...just not startling.
Dr Funkytown
Roar Rookie
Don, the fact 2 suspended players fill the #4 and #6 positions on the test batting ranks reflects how this system needs a complete overhaul. Regardless of the optimism some of the cricket fans (myself included) have regarding the potential improvement when they return. Not to mention other rankings like Shaun Marsh at #44 in tests, and meanwhile Cummins is only a lowly #92 in the same list. His recent form with the Willow deserves much higher than this.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
How is Lyon only 19th? There's a lot wrong with this system.
Paul
Roar Guru
A great achievement considering where he was, injury wise, only a few seasons ago I hope he can stay there or thereabouts for at least another 4 or 5 years. Champion bowler and a champion bloke
jameswm
Roar Guru
Where's qwetzen? Mate, do you rate Cummins yet?