Zak Crawley, James Anderson ascend ICC rankings following scintillating performances

Following their dazzling performances in the recently concluded third test between England and Pakistan, English duo Zak Crawley and James Anderson have soared-up in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings.

Crawley has ascended 53 spots to reach a career-best 28th position. The Kent batsman started the series against Pakistan at the 95th position but his aggregate of 320-runs in the series have now made him England’s fourth best ranked Batsman after just eight test caps. Only Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Jos Buttler are ahead of him.

Anderson has moved back to the top-10 in the Test bowlers rankings after briefly dropping out after England’s previous home series against West Indies. The 38-yer-old, who has topped the charts on several occasions, has moved up six spots and is now placed 8th.

Zak Crawley played a dazzling innings of 267 in England’s first innings which is the tenth highest individual score for England in the longest format of the game. Crawley’s faced 393 deliveries and his innings was studded with 34 fours and 1 six.

The 22-year-old was involved in a magnificent 359-run stand for the fifth wicket with Jos Butler ( 152 of 311 balls; 4x13, 6x2) which completely turned the tide in favor of the hosts. Crawley was deservingly awarded the Man of the match award for his scintillating knock.

James Anderson on the other hand is not new when it comes to grabbing the headlines as he created even more history by becoming the first ever fast bowler to capture 600-Test wickets. Anderson was in red-hot form in the final match of the series, picking up seven wickets in the match. The Right-arm fast bowler also picked-up his 29th five-wicket haul in Pakistan’s first innings.

Anderson achieved the 600-wicket milestone when he dismissed Pakistan captain Azhar Ali in the visitor’s fourth innings. The 38-year-old quick currently sits behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800) , Shane Warne ( 708) and Anil Kumble ( 619) in the all-time list.

The Lancashire-born pacer is showing no signs of slowing down and remarked that he could reach the 700-wicket mark, following the match. Anderson reached the 600-wicket club in 156 matches at an outstanding average of 26.8.

Jos Buttler was another notable player to climb the rankings after his gritty knock of 152. Buttler is now at the 21st position.

There was some disappointment for star all-rounder and ICC player of the year 2019 Ben Stokes, who ceded the top all-rounder spot to West Indies captain Jason Holder. Stokes had missed two matches in the series because of an injury.