Joseph, Hartley make gains in Test Rankings after stunning bowling spells

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) West Indies fast-bowler Shamar Joseph and England’s left-arm spinner Tom Hartley have made big gains in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings, after producing stunning bowling spells in two different continents.

Brushing aside a right toe injury, Joseph’s sensational seven-wicket haul in the second innings helped the West Indies secure a magical eight-run victory over Australia at The Gabba in Brisbane to draw the series with Australia at 1-1. He now finds himself in joint-50th position after moving up 42 places.

Joseph’s tally of 397 rating points is the fifth-best by a West Indies bowler after two Tests, with some past greats ahead of him in that list. Former West Indies players, fast-bowler Colin Croft (447), left-arm spinner Alf Valentine (443), fast-bowler Wes Hall (422) and off-spinner Sonny Ramadhin (407) had more points after their first two Tests.

Joseph was the top gainer for the West Indies in terms of bowlers after the Brisbane Test but his fellow fast bowlers Kemar Roach (up two places to 17th) and Alzarri Joseph (up four places to 33rd) have also made headway after finishing with three and six wickets, respectively, in the match.

West Indies batters Joshua de Silva (up 12 places to 60th), Kirk McKenzie (up nine places to 76th) and Kavem Hodge (up 98 places to 81st) have moved up the batting rankings after some useful knocks in the Test series against Australia.

On the other hand, debutant Hartley too had a remarkable seven-wicket haul in the second innings of the opening Test against India and finished with nine wickets in the match, helping the visitors’ pull off a 28-run win at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Hartley, 24, is in 63rd position with 332 rating points, the best by any England bowler after his debut Test since left-arm seam bowler John Lever achieved 393 points with a 10-wicket match haul against India in Delhi in December 1976.

Premier batter Joe Root’s part-time off-spin bowling has lifted eight places to 54th place among bowlers after he finished with five wickets in the match, including an important four-wicket haul in the first innings.

Player of the Match, England vice-captain Ollie Pope’s second innings knock of 196 has lifted him 20 positions to a career-best 15th position while his team-mate, opener Ben Duckett has progressed five places to 22nd position after useful scores of 35 and 47 at the top of the order.

Indian batters KL Rahul (up three places to 51st) and Yashaswi Jaiswal (up three places to 66th) have moved up the rankings after scores of 86 and 80, respectively, in the first innings.

Fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has advanced one place to fourth after finishing with six wickets in the match. Left-arm spin all-rounder Axar Patel has progressed in both lists – from 51st to 50th in batting rankings and from 33rd to 31st in bowling rankings.

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