Mitchell Starc equals Ben Stokes in ICC all-rounders' rankings, Tilak Varma rises in batters' chart
Mitchell Starc has been the standout bowler in the ongoing Ashes as the fast bowler has taken 22 wickets in three matches. He has also performed well with the bat and has now joined Ben Stokes in the list of Test all-rounders.
Australia's star bowler Mitchell Starc kept making surprising gains in the ICC rankings for all-rounders in Test cricket and made another strong rise in the recent rankings.
Starc has been the bowler of the Ashes so far and has taken 22 wickets in the three matches at a scarcely-believing average of 17.04. He has been a nemesis for the English batters and has won the Player of the Match award in two of the three Tests.
He has also contributed with the bat and has smashed two half-centuries in the two Tests. His latest 54 in the Adelaide Test sees him become the joint third-highest ranked Test all-rounder in the world.
He is now tied with England captain and star all-rounder Ben Stokes in the rankings with 311 ratings to his name and has made a two-place jump. He is now only behind the top-ranked Ravindra Jadeja (455) and second-placed Marco Jansen (344) in the tally.
Tilak Varma rises in T20I batters' rankings
Meanwhile, star India batter Tilak Varma has made a jump of one place in the T20I rankings for batters. He has a rating of 805 and is only behind Abhishek Sharma (908) and Phil Salt (849).
Coming back to the Test rankings, Travis Head made a jump of four places in the rankings for the batters after his second innings of 170 in Adelaide. He is now the joint third-highest ranked Test batter alongside Steve Smith.
Alex Carey also jumped six spots to rise to ninth in the Test rankings, 106 and 72 in the Adelaide Test.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s prolific batting laid the foundation for their win over the West Indies as they sealed the series 2–0.
Rachin Ravindra’s unbeaten knocks of 72 and 46 propelled him five places up to 13th, while Devon Conway’s commanding innings of 227 and 100 lifted him to a career-high rating of 681, placing him joint 17th.
In response, Kavem Hodge’s fighting 123 not out earned him an 11-place rise to 66th, marking both a career-best ranking and rating.