The International Cricket Council (ICC) has released the final Test players’ rankings of the year 2019. While Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner have improved their positions in the Test batting rankings, New Zealand pacer Neil Wagner has moved to the second position in the Test bowling rankings.
On Monday (30th December), the ICC has released the latest Test players’ rankings. Indian captain Virat Kohli is leading the table of Test batting rankings with 928 rating points. Australian star Steven Smith has maintained the second position in the Test batting rankings with 911 rating points. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is in the third position in this ranking-table with 822 points.
Special movements in the ICC Test batting rankings
Both the in-form Aussie batsmen Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner have climbed up one spot each in the ICC Test batting rankings. While Labuschagne is standing in the fourth position, Warner is in the joint seventh spot along with the Indian Test middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane. As Labuschagne has moved up, Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara has slipped down to the fifth position in the ICC Test batting rankings.
Also, the South African wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock, who scored 95 and 34 runs against England during the recently concluded Centurion Test and also won the Player of the Match award, has entered to the top 10 positions in the ICC Test batting rankings. Jumping eight spots, Quinton de Kock is now holding the 10th position in the batting rankings.
ICC Test bowling rankings
On the other hands, the Australian pacer Pat Cummins has finished this year on the top of the ICC Test bowling rankings. Meanwhile, the Kiwi left-arm pacer Neil Wagner has achieved his best-ever ICC Test bowling rankings after finishing this year in the second position (+1) with 859 rating points. In the Boxing Day Test against the hosts Australia at Melbourne, Wagner scalped seven wickets (4/83 & 3/50) and also became the second-fastest New Zealand bowler to complete 200 Test wickets.
South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has slipped down to the third position (-1) despite taking seven wickets (3/68 & 4/103) in the Centurion Test victory against England. Another Proteas pacer Vernon Philander, who is playing his last Test series, has climbed up three spots to take the fifth position in the ICC Test bowling rankings after bowling superbly during England’s first innings of the Centurion Test (4/16 & 0/35).
Australian left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc, who bagged two wickets in the Melbourne Test against New Zealand, has dropped down to the seventh spot in the Test bowling rankings.
