Duanne Olivier’s Player of the Series performance against Pakistan has rocketed him up to 24th spot in the ICC’s Test bowling rankings.
His match figures of eight for 125 in Johannesburg lifted him eight slots in the list led by his compatriot Kagiso Rabada. His 24 wickets in the series not only got him the player of the series award, but also saw him gain 29 slots overall in the rankings after starting the series in 53rd place.
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South Africa, who have reached second position in the ICC Test Team Rankings after their impressive series victory, also had their batsmen move up the rankings, with Johannesburg man of the match Quinton de Kock (18 and 129 runs in his two innings) gaining 12 berths to reach 14th position. Former captain Hashim Amla (up three places to 10th) and opener Aiden Markram (up two places to eighth) have also made significant gains.
For Pakistan, Babar Azam has moved up five places to a career-best 20th position, and Asad Shafiq is not far behind after inching up one slot to 23rd place. Openers Imam-ul-Haq (up 23 places to 73rd) and Shan Masood (up two places to 63rd) have also reached career-best positions.
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Among their bowlers, Mohammad Amir has gained three slots to reach 31st position, while other fast bowler Faheem Ashraf has lifted 48 slots to a career-best 58th position after finishing with six wickets in the match. Spinner Shadab Khan has also reached a career-best place after gaining 23 places to reach 78th in the list.
The emphatic series win has helped South Africa overtake New Zealand and England in the team rankings. South Africa has gained four points to reach 110 points, two points above England in the list led by India with 116 points. Pakistan slipped behind Sri Lanka to seventh place and 88 points after their disappointing Test campaign in South Africa.
Test Team Rankings (as at 15 January)
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | India | 116 |
| 2 | South Africa | 110 (+4) |
| 3 | England | 108 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 107 |
| 5 | Australia | 101 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 91 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 88 (-4) |
| 8 | West Indies | 70 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 69 |
| 10 | Zimbabwe | 13 |
| 11 | Afghanistan | 00 |
| 12 | Ireland | 00 |
ICC Test Player Rankings (as at 15 January)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Virat Kohli | Ind | 922 | 53.76 | 937 |
| 2 | ( – ) | K. Williamson | NZ | 897 | 51.44 | 915 |
| 3 | ( – ) | C. Pujara | Ind | 881 | 51.18 | 888 |
| 4 | ( – ) | Steve Smith | Aus | 874 | 61.37 | 947 |
| 5 | ( – ) | Joe Root | Eng | 807 | 50.44 | 917 |
| 6 | ( – ) | David Warner | Aus | 772 | 48.20 | 880 |
| 7 | ( – ) | Henry Nicholls | NZ | 763*! | 43.54 | 763 |
| 8 | (+2) | Aiden Markram | SA | 741* | 45.96 | 759 |
| 9 | ( – ) | D. Karunaratne | SL | 715 | 37.08 | 754 |
| 10 | (+3) | Hashim Amla | SA | 711 | 47.33 | 907 |
Other selected rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 14 | (+12) | Q. de Kock | SA | 683 | 38.17 | 802 |
| 20 | (+5) | Babar Azam | Pak | 658! | 35.28 | 658 |
| 23= | (+1) | Asad Shafiq | Pak | 643 | 38.94 | 758 |
| 63 | (+2) | Shan Masood | Pak | 470*! | 26.43 | 470 |
| 73 | (+23) | Imam-ul-Haq | Pak | 433*! | 28.41 | 433 |
| 99 | (+11) | T. de Bruyn | SA | 332*! | 20.35 | 332 |
Bowlers (top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | K. Rabada | SA | 882 | 21.41 | 902 |
| 2 | ( – ) | J. Anderson | Eng | 874 | 26.98 | 903 |
| 3 | ( – ) | V. Philander | SA | 809 | 21.73 | 912 |
| 4 | (-1) | Pat Cummins | Aus | 804* | 24.51 | 836 |
| 5 | ( – ) | R. Jadeja | Ind | 794 | 23.68 | 899 |
| 6 | (+1) | Trent Boult | NZ | 771 | 27.90 | 825 |
| 7 | (-1) | M. Abbas | Pak | 770* | 18.86 | 838 |
| 8 | ( – ) | Tim Southee | NZ | 767 | 29.93 | 799 |
| 9 | ( – ) | R. Ashwin | Ind | 763 | 25.43 | 904 |
| 10 | ( – ) | Jason Holder | Win | 751* | 28.50 | 766 |
Other selected rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 24 | (+8) | D. Olivier | SA | 642*! | 18.19 | 642 |
| 31= | (+3) | M. Amir | Pak | 573* | 30.47 | 658 |
| 58 | (+48) | F. Ashraf | Pak | 292*! | 26.09 | 292 |
| 78 | (+23) | Shadab Khan | Pak | 202*! | 38.83 | 202 |
All-rounders (top five)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | S. Al Hasan | Ban | 415 | 489 |
| 2 | ( – ) | R. Jadeja | Ind | 387 | 438 |
| 3 | ( – ) | Jason Holder | Win | 365/* | 381 |
| 4 | (+1) | Ben Stokes | Eng | 342 | 396 |
| 5 | (-1) | V. Philander | SA | 341 | 378 |
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.
!indicates career-highest rating
For more information on player rankings, please click here.
Source: ICC
Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
