Sangakkara returns to top of Test rankings

Tuesday, 13 January 2015 01:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

ESPNCricinfo: Kumar Sangakkara has reclaimed the top position in the ICC Test Players Rankings, following his double-century in the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington, which the hosts won by 193 runs. Though Sri Lanka lost the series 2-0, Sangakkara’s 203 in the first innings of the second Test helped him move up to 909 points in the rankings. Sangakkara managed just 12 runs in total from the other three innings, but it was enough to take him one point clear of AB de Villiers in second place. Sangakkara had earlier topped the run-scoring charts in Tests in 2014, hitting 1438 runs at 71.90, with four hundreds and eight half-centuries.

Kane Williamson, meanwhile, jumped seven places to a career-best seventh place in the rankings after a stellar series in which he ended as the leading run-scorer with 396 runs at an average of 198. Williamson scored two fifties as well as an unbeaten 242 in the second innings in Wellington, which took him past the 3000-run mark in Test cricket, from just 39 matches. Australia’s Steven Smith, who scored a record-breaking 769 runs in the four-Test series against India, leapfrogged Angelo Mathews to fourth in the rankings, while Virat Kohli moved up three places to 12th after collecting scores of 147 and 46 in the SCG Test and 692 runs in the series overall. Among the bowlers, Trent Boult was rewarded for his 11 wickets from four innings with a sixth-placed position in the rankings, nine points adrift of Mitchell Johnson. Dale Steyn still heads the table, with a commanding 79-point lead over second-placed Ryan Harris. India’s 0-2 series defeat in Australia meant they slipped down to No.7 in the Test rankings, behind Sri Lanka. South Africa remain the top ranked side in Tests, with 124 points, five ahead of Australia.