ODI rankings: Virat Kohli retains top spot; Ireland's Andy Balbirnie, Paul Stirling move up after final England match

Indian skipper Virat Kohli continued to remain No.1 batsman, while Ireland batsmen Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling advanced in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s ODI Player Rankings released on Wednesday.

Skipper Balbirnie’s 113 in the final match against England helped him move up four places to 42nd in the ICC Men's ODI Rankings for batsmen, while his deputy Paul Stirling’s 142 lifted him one slot to 26th in the list led by India skipper Virat Kohli.

Balbirnie and Stirling also stitched a record 214-run partnership in the final ODI against Ireland which the latter went on to win by seven wickets at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground in Southamptom.

Meanwhile, Rookie Curtis Campher’s impressive first series, which saw him score half-centuries both times he batted, has helped him make a noteworthy entry into the batsmen’s list in 191st position, and the Ireland bowlers too registered upward movement in the latest rankings update.

Fast bowler Craig Young’s six wickets in the series have lifted him 40 places to a career-best 89th position while Mark Adair (up six places to 138th) and Joshua Little (up 38 places to 146th) are the others to move up after the series, which ended 2-1 in England’s favour.

England captain Eoin Morgan, another centurion from the final match, has gained one place and is 22nd while Jonny Bairstow has moved up a slot to 13th position, thanks to his knock of 82 in the second match. 

Sam Billings has re-entered the rankings at 146nd position after aggregating 132 runs, the ICC press release stated.

Among their bowlers, leg-spinner Adil Rashid has advanced from 29th to 25th with five wickets in the series.Left-arm fast bowler David Willey’s eight wickets, including a haul of five for 30 in the opening match, not only won him the player of the series award but has also lifted him six places to 51st position.

England’s series win got them 20 points in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, which sees 13 teams vie for direct qualifying places in the next ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India in 2023. Ireland are on 10 points.

India and seven other teams will make it directly from the league with the remaining two getting a second chance through a Qualifier. More about the Super League is available here.