Pat Cummins becomes first Australian pacer since Glen McGrath to claim the No.1 Test rank
Pat Cummins has become the first Australian bowler since Glen McGrath 13 years ago to become the No.1 ranked Test bowler in the world, claiming the top spot in the latest ICC update.
Cummins and England's James Anderson move ahead of South Africa's Kagiso Rabada after Proteas suffered a shock defeat to Sri Lanka in Durban, with the Australian claiming the top spot and the Englishman moving to second, with Rabada down to third.
Legendary bowler McGrath was the last Australian bowler to achieve the feat, which was in February 2006. Mitchell Johnson came close to second in 2009, the closest since then.
Sri Lanka's Kusal Perera jumped 58 spots in the ICC Test batting rankings after his heroics led the Lankans to a thrilling one-wicket win against South Africa in Durban. Perera's knock is considered as one of the best in the modern era with his 200-ball 53*.
Despite the loss to Sri Lanka, South Africa's Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock entered the top 10, with the skipper claiming the 10th spot and the wicketkeeper jumping to 8th.
There were no changes in the top 20 of the all-rounder rankings. Jason Holder retained the top spot with 439 points, with Kasun Rajitha at No.89 (up 17 places) and Vishwa Fernando at No.95 (up 23 places) making significant gains.
