Photo Credit: ICC
Kane Williamson’s career-best score of 251 in the first Test against West Indies helped him jump up two places to join Virat Kohli at No.2 in the batting rankings.
• His innings of 251 was the ninth-highest individual score in New Zealand’s Test history and took him from fourth to second position
Kane Williamson’s massive 251 against the West Indies in Hamilton catapulted him into second place in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings, a position he now shares with team India captain, Virat Kohli. With his recent performance, he gained 74 points, moving from 812 to 886. His compatriot, Tom Latham, garnered his career-best points tally of 733 and tenth place on the table, thanks to his innings of 86.
From the West Indies camp, Jermaine Blackwood continued the good form he showed on the tour of England earlier in the year, scoring his second Test century. The knock shot him up 17 places to 41st, his best position since reaching 40th in August 2017.
Alzarri Joseph’s unlikely 86 in the West Indies second innings rocketed him up 31 places to rank 123 with a career-best of 219 points.
Neil Wagner’s six wickets in the match edged him ahead of England’s Stuart Broad back into second place in the bowlers’ rankings, equalling his career-best position, which he first achieved back in December 2019. Tim Southee made his Test debut back in March 2008, but his current tally of 817 points is his highest taking him to 4th.
West Indies Captain, Jason Holder dropped from fifth to seventh having not taken any wickets. Holder has also lost the top spot in the all-rounders table. He was top by one point from England’s Ben Stokes, but Stokes now has a twelve-point advantage. Stokes briefly held the top spot during the summer, snatching it from Holder after the second Test with the West Indies, before Holder reclaimed it.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 6 December, after the New Zealand – West Indies Test in Hamilton)
Batsmen (top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Steve Smith | Aus | 911 | 62.84 | 947 v SA at Durban 2018 |
| 2 | (+2) | K Williamson | NZ | 886 | 52.55 | 915 v Ban at Hamilton 2019 |
| 2 | ( – ) | Virat Kohli | India | 886 | 53.62 | 937 v Eng at Southampton 2018 |
| 4 | ( – ) | M Labuschagne | Aus | 827*! | 63.43 | 827 v NZ at Sydney 2020 |
| 5 | ( – ) | Babar Azam | Pak | 797 | 45.44 | 800 v Ban at Rawalpindi 2020 |
| 6 | ( – ) | David Warner | Aus | 793 | 48.94 | 880 v NZ at Perth 2015 |
| 7 | (- ) | C Pujara | India | 766 | 48.66 | 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017 |
| 8 | (-1) | Ben Stokes | Eng | 760 | 37.84 | 827 v WI at Old Trafford 2020 |
| 9 | ( – ) | Joe Root | Eng | 738 | 47.99 | 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015 |
| 10 | ( – ) | Tom Latham | NZ | 733! | 42.83 | 733 v WI at Hamilton 2020 |
Bowlers (top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | (- ) | Pat Cummins | Aus | 904 | 21.82 | 914 v Eng at Old Trafford 2019 |
| 2 | ( +1) | Neil Wagner | NZ | 849 | 26.31 | 859 v Aus at Melbourne 2019 |
| 3 | (-1) | Stuart Broad | Eng | 845 | 27.65 | 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016 |
| 4 | (- ) | Tim Southee | NZ | 817 | 28.83 | 817 v WI at Hamilton 2020 |
| 5 | (+) | Kagiso Rabada | SA | 802 | 22.95 | 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018 |
| 6 | (+) | Mitchell Starc | Aus | 797 | 26.97 | 807 v NZ at Perth 2019 |
| 7 | (-) | Jason Holder | WI | 787 | 27.21 | 862 v Eng at Southampton 2020 |
| 8 | (- ) | James Anderson | Eng | 781 | 26.79 | 903 v India at Lord’s 2018 |
| 9 | (- ) | Jasprit Bumrah | India | 779* | 20.33 | 834 v WI at Jamaica 2019 |
| 10 | (+1) | Josh Hazlewood | Aus | 769 | 26.20 | 864 v India at Bengaluru 2017 |
All-rounders (top five)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Highest Rating |
| 1 | (+1) | Ben Stokes | Eng | 446 | 497 v WI at Old Trafford 2020 |
| 2 | (-1) | Jason Holder | WI | 434 | 485 v Eng at Southampton 2020 |
| 3 | ( – ) | R Jadeja | India | 397 | 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017 |
| 4 | ( – ) | Shakib Al Hasan | Ban | 366 | 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017 |
| 5 | ( – ) | Mitchell Starc | Aus | 298 | 346 v India at Pune 2017 |
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.
!indicates career-highest ratingFor more information on player rankings, please click here.
Name of Author: ICC
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body for cricket, founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. Renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, it became the ICC in 1987. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, the ICC has 108 member nations.
