Pakistan And England Players Surge In Rankings After The First Test

Pakistan might have lost the first Test against England in Manchester by three wickets, but their players improved in the ICC rankings. The tourists conceded a series lead after being in a winning position in Manchester as the partnership between Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes was the turning point. Pakistan’s multiple players surged in the men’s Test rankings while English players did too.

Also Read: Joe Root Backs ‘Under-Fire’ Jofra Archer After His Lacklusture Performance

Left-handed batsman Shan Masood, who mustered 156 in the first innings, climbed 14 places to a career-best 19th in the rankings. His innings helped the visitors gain a 107-run first-innings lead; however, it was not enough to prevent their defeat. Being the 19th ranked Test batsman, Masood is the second-highest ranked Test Batsman in the side. Babar Azam holds the highest for Pakistan, being placed at sixth.

As far as English players are concerned, Chris Woakes progressed 18 places to be in the 78th position after being part of a mammoth 139-run stand with Jos Buttler. Chris Woakes, who stayed 84 not out in the fourth innings, surged to the seventh spot in the list of all-rounders. Buttler’s knocks of 38 and 75 lifted him to 30th from 44 while Ollie Pope bagged a career-best ranking of 36th after scoring 62 and 7.

How much did England and Pakistan’s bowlers improve?

As for the bowlers from the two sides, Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan made significant gains. Yasir Shah, who was topped the bowlers’ list at one point, moved to two places to the 22nd spot after taking eight wickets in the match. Bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan attained career-best position of 69. Senior paceman Stuart Broad remained in the third position.

However, he has diminished the gap between himself and Neil Wagner to seven points. Broad remains at 836 points while Wagner is at 843 with Australia’s Pat Cummins leading the rankings with 904. As far as the ICC Test Championship points’ table goes, England’s points have amounted to 266. India lead the table with 360 points while Australia is at second with 296. Pakistan remains at fifth with 140 points under their belt.

Also Read: Pakistan Making The Same Mistake Since Partition: Shoaib Akhtar