England pacer James Anderson beat Australian pacer Pat Cummins to take the top spot in the most recent ICC Men’s Test Rankings.
James Anderson 6th time being ranked as the best Test bowler by the ICC. On the strength of his seven wickets in their resounding 267-run victory over New Zealand last week in Mount Maunganui, Anderson earned the top slot. The Australian Test captain’s four-year era as the top Test bowler came to an end thanks to the swing king.
Pat Cummins drops to third on 858 rating points, but could still regain top billing with some strong performances during Australia’s ongoing Test series against India. India players didn’t miss out completely on the latest rankings update either, with spinner Ravindra Jadeja moving up seven places to ninth on the updated list for Test bowlers.
The majority of those victories were greatly aided by the veteran. The experienced English spinner is also third in Test wickets with 682, behind only Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne (800).
Anderson’s climb to the top at the age of 40 years and 207 days also made him the oldest bowler to do so since Aussie legend Clarrie Grimmett accomplished it in 1936.
Anderson’s lead at the top is, however, rather shaky due to Indian spinner Ashwin, who is only two rating points behind the England bowler in second place with a total of 864 rating points.
Cummins drops to third with 858 rating points but could move back up if he performs well for Australia in the on-going four-match series against India. Cummins’ team, however, hasn’t been at their best, losing the first two games.