Smith gets into Don territory in alltime Test rankings table
NEWDELHI: Steve Smith’s knocks of 76 and 102 not out in the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground have not only strengthened his position at the top of the ICC Test rankings table but also given him sole possession of second place for the highest-ever ranking points.
Smith earned two points for the two knocks and is now 14 points behind Don Bradman (961) and two points ahead of Len Hutton (945) in the all-time list. He has 947 points and leads the current lot of cricketers in the year-end rankings.
Meanwhile, India captain Virat Kohli held on to the second spot with 893 points just behind Smith, while Cheteshwar Pujara remained at the third spot.
IN TOP 10
Former England captain Alastair Cook moved nine places to eighth position on the back of his double century knock of 244.
Cook had begun the year in 15th position, while he had entered the Ashes in 10th position.
England captain Joe Root is the other batsman to improve his ranking, when he moved up one place to join his opposite number from New Zealand, Kane Williamson, in fourth place. Root and Williamson had started 2017 in third and fourth positions, respectively.
In the list of bowlers, there is no change in the top nine with England’s James Anderson leading the field. Anderson had started the year on 810 points in sixth position and has finished on 892 points at the No. 1 spot.
The spin trio of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Rangana Herath started 2017 in the top three positions, and have finished at third, fourth and sixth places, respectively, while Australia’s Josh Hazlewood started and finished in fifth spot.
The only change in the top 10 is the return of South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel in 10th position. The 33-year-old claimed five for 21 in Zimbabwe’s first innings for which he has been rewarded with a rise of three places, which has now put him one place ahead of Dale Steyn. It is for the first time in nearly two years that Morkel is within the top 10.
ALASTAIR COOK ROSE NINE PLACES TO EIGHTH POSITION ON THE BACK OF HIS DOUBLE CENTURY KNOCK OF 244.