Rabada, De Kock move up ICC rankings

CAPE TOWN — Former Under-19 stars Kagiso Rabada and Quinton de Kock have achieved career-high positions in the ICC Test player rankings after firing South Africa to an emphatic 177-run victory over Australia in the opening Test of the three-match series in Perth on Monday.

Rabada, who took 14 wickets in South Africa’s successful campaign in the 2014 U19 Cricket World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, has jumped 10 places to 20th position in the bowlers’ table following figures of two for 78 and five for 92, which later earned him the man-of-thematch award.

The 21-year-old is the fourth South African fast bowler to feature inside the top 20 after Dale Steyn (second but ruled out of the series due to a shoulder injury), Vernon Philander (11th) and Morne Morkel (13th).

Rabada now has Australia’s Nathan Lyon firmly within his sights as the 16th-ranked off-spinner is 51 points ahead. Because the Johannesburg-born fast bowler is still in his qualification period, he has an excellent chance of leapfrogging the Australian depending on how he performs in the Hobart and Adelaide Tests. A bowler qualifies for a full rating after he has taken 100 wickets, while Rabada has claimed 36 wickets in nine Tests.

De Kock, who was his country’s most successful batsman in the 2012 U19 Cricket World Cup in Townsville with 284 runs, scored 84 and 64 for which he has been rewarded with a jump of 11 places. This has put the left-hander in 20th spot in the batting chart.

The wicketkeeper-batsman has now become South Africa’s third batsman to feature inside the top 20. Hashim Amla is sixth after dropping out of the top five following a five-place slide, while AB de Villiers, who is missing the series due to an injury, is seventh.

The 23-year-old De Kock looks strong to gain more points, which means he can move further up the order as he is still in the qualification period. A batsman qualifies for a full rating after he has played in 40 Test innings, while De Kock has so far scored 720 runs in 17 innings of 11 Tests.

The other South African players to reap the benefits for stellar performances in the Perth Test include opener Dean Elgar, who has achieved a career-high 24th position after rising five places, and JP Duminy, whose fourth career century has lifted him nine places to 38th position. — Sport24