Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Men's Test Bowling Rankings, leapfrogging South Africa left-armer Marco Jansen following the conclusion of the World Test Championship series in Cape Town, the International Cricket Council announced on Wednesday.
Starc collected a decisive nine-wicket match haul in the third Test at Newlands to secure a new career-best ranking rating. The veteran left-armer had initially taken the top crown in August before briefly yielding the mantle to Jansen during the second Test in Gqeberha.
Jansen managed only three wickets in the Cape Town fixture, causing him to lose the premier bowling position. However, South Africa celebrated a series triumph as off-spinner Simon Harmer jumped nine places to seventh overall after taking six second-innings wickets to earn the Player of the Match award.
Despite dropping behind Starc in the bowling list, Jansen extended his lead at the summit of the Test all-rounders rankings after scoring a half-century in the final Test. Teammates Wiaan Mulder moved up to third and Harmer climbed to fifth in the same category.
South Africa batters also made significant gains in the updated list, with Aiden Markram rising to 11th, Mulder climbing to 17th, and Ryan Rickelton surging 25 places to 23rd position with a career-high rating.
Australia saw batting improvements as Cameron Green and Alex Carey both moved up to equal 19th spot. West Indies right-hander Justin Greaves gained 12 places to equal 38th following his team's eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Mirpur.
Pakistani bowlers made strong gains in the latest ODI rankings following the completion of the recent tri-series on home soil. White-ball captain Shaheen Afridi moved up one spot to fifth among ODI bowlers, while fast bowler Haris Rauf jumped five places to 24th.
Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman advanced nine positions to 37th in the ODI batting rankings. England opener Ben Duckett gained one slot to move to sixth overall, while Sri Lanka's Pavan Rathnayake vaulted 20 places to 16th.
In the updated T20I rankings, India captain Shreyas Iyer gained two places to move into seventh position among batters following his team's series victory in New Zealand. New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips climbed 13 places to 24th spot.
New Zealand bowlers also made notable strides in the T20I updates, with spinner Mitchell Santner rising two places to fifth and paceman Jacob Duffy surging 23 slots to 23rd. Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai moved up to third in the T20I all-rounders list.
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