James Anderson moves to top of Test bowlers rankings

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James Anderson has risen to the top spot in the ICC Test Player Rankings for bowlers following his nine wickets against Windies in the third and final Test at Lord’s that helped England to a nine-wicket win and a 2-1 series win.

Anderson, 35, became the oldest bowler to be ranked No. 1 since Muttiah Muralidaran held the spot in July 2009. He also is the oldest pacer to occupy the top rank since Glenn McGrath in January 2006.

Anderson, who also picked up his 500th Test wicket in the match in a career-best show of 7 for 42, overtook Ravindra Jadeja, India’s left-arm spinner, followed by R Ashwin and Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath at three and four.

Ben Stokes, too, made gains in all three rankings after his Man of the Match outing. His 60 in the first innings saw him rise to a career-best 20th in the batsmen rankings, while his 6 for 22 placed him at 21st among bowlers, and the combined effort had him overtake Moeen Ali to the fourth spot among all-rounders.

Shai Hope’s brilliance in the series, not just saw him being named Player of the Series alongside Anderson, but also rise in the rankings to a career-best 30th. Opener Kieran Powell too moved upwards along with Kemar Roach and captain Jason Holder.

Both teams, however, retained respective spots on the team ranking charts – England at three and Windies at eight.