Australia batters make it rare 1-2-3 in ICC Test rankings

Ravichandran Ashwin continues to be the World No 1 Test bowler.

Australia batters occupy the top three places in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's Test Player Rankings after the latest weekly update as Steve Smith and Travis Head join top-ranked Marnus Labuschagne following their centuries in the ICC World Test Championship Final against India at The Oval.

Labuschagne holds on to his No 1 position with 903 rating points. Smith has advanced one place to second position after hitting 121 and 34 against India, while Player of the Match Travis Head’s scores of 163 and 18 have lifted him three places to a career-best third position.

The race for the second spot though is very close as Smith is on 885 rating points, Head on 884 and Kane Williamson on 883 rating points.

Batters from the same side taking the top three places is a rare occurrence. The last time this occurred in the Test batting rankings was in 1984, when West Indies players Gordon Greenidge (810 rating points), Clive Lloyd (787) and Larry Gomes (773) were at the top of the list.

There are also some other significant movements for Australia after their 209-run victory over India.

Alex Carey has progressed 11 places to 36th after scoring 48 and 66 not out while Nathan Lyon (up two places to sixth) and Scott Boland (up five places to 36th) have also moved up after finishing with five wickets each in the match.

India batter Ajinkya Rahane’s scores of 89 and 46 see him return to the rankings in 37th position while Shardul Thakur has moved up six places to 94th after his half-century in the first innings.

Despite being out of action for the last six months, Rishabh Pant is still the highest-ranked Indian batter at 10th with 758 points.

Meanwhile, in the men’s ODI rankings, UAE batter Vriiitya Aravind has moved up seven places to 49th after scoring 36 and 70 against the West Indies in their home series played in Sharjah that the visiting side won 3-0.

Sri Lanka players Pathum Nissanka (up five places to 62nd among batters) and Wanindu Hasaranga (up two places to 28th among bowlers) have also made headway in the latest update after their final match of the series against Afghanistan.