Anderson replaces Broad as No. 1 Test bowler

James Anderson, England’s premier fast bowler, has claimed the No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers after a successful outing against Sri Lanka in the second Test at Chester-le-Street, where he picked up eight wickets in the match. He has leapfrogged his team-mate, Stuart Broad, and Indian spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin to top the rankings.

In the two Tests against Sri Lanka, Anderson has picked up 18 wickets and 79 points to jump to the pole position. ‘The Burnley Express’ now leads Ashwin by 13 points and Broad by 15 points. Anderson also becomes the fourth bowler from England to hold the coveted No. 1 spot. Ian Botham was the first to do it in 1980, Steve Harmison climbed to the top of the rankings during the 2004 season and Broad had scaled the summit after his heroics in the Johannesburg Test in January.

Other bowlers to improve their rankings post the Chester-le-Street Test are Nuwan Pradeep (43rd, up by five places), Milinda Siriwardana (50th, up by 13 places) and Chris Woakes (73rd, up by 16 places).

As for the batsmen, Moeen Ali registered career-best rankings after he scored an unbeaten 155 in the second Test. Alastair Cook, who became the latest entrant to the 10000-run club, held onto his 15th spot, while Dinesh Chandimal moved up one place to 19th after his 126 in the second innings. Moeen also gained one spot in the allrounders list while Ashwin retained the No.1 spot.

Alex Hales continued his steady growth in the rankings with another fifty. He followed up his 86 in Headingley with a vital fifty in the second Test. Hence, he moved up nine places and reached his best ranking of 70th. Australian captain Steve Smith is the No.1 ranked Test batsman, followed by Joe Root of England and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.