Ashwin holds on to 2nd spot as Anderson climbs

DUBAI: Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has held on to his second position as England pace bowler James Anderson, despite his team's Ashes debacle, has surged three places to No. 5 in the latest ICC Test Bowling Rankings released on Wednesday.

In the Test All-rounders' Rankings, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who missed India's away three-Test series against South Africa due to an injury, continue to hold the second and third spots respectively behind West Indies' Jason Holder.

India's new white-ball captain Rohit Sharma, currently out of the South Africa Test series, is ranked fifth in the batters' ranking, while Test skipper Virat Kohli is holding on to his seventh position in the category.

Despite the disappointment of Ashes defeat, James Anderson has leapfrogged New Zealand's Neil Wagner, South Africa's Kagiso Rabada and Australia's Josh Hazlewood to climb to fifth in the bowling rankings.

Australian quick Mitchell Starc's impact in the Ashes has been rewarded with a move further up in the all-rounders' category where he has climbed one place to fifth.

James Anderson's stunning spell of 4/33 in the third Ashes Test helped him move three spots up to No.5 in the Test Bowling Rankings.

It was Anderson who drew first blood and dismissed Australia's David Warner on the stroke of stumps on Day 1 after England were bowled out for 185. The next day, he bowled a brilliant spell and was rewarded with the wicket of Steve Smith.

He later got the scalp of Marcus Harris, who looked well on course for a hundred, on 76. Anderson then broke a 34-run stand between Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, by getting the wicket of the Australian skipper and ensuring the hosts don't run away with a massive lead.

Amongst the other bowlers in the match, Scott Boland directly debuted at No.74 in the Test Bowling Rankings. He returned Player of the Match-winning figures of 6/7 in the second innings, helping Australia secure an innings win and retain the Ashes.

Starc moved up a spot to No.5 in the Test All-rounders' Rankings at the expense of Ben Stokes. Starc was once again lethal with the ball in hand, picking up five wickets across two innings in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. He also made a handy contribution of 24 not out that helped extend Australia's lead to 82. IANS

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