Noman Ali climbs to joint second in ICC Test bowling rankings

Pakistan left-arm spinner Noman Ali has reached a career-best position in the ICC Men’s Test bowling rankings, climbing to joint second in the latest update released on Wednesday.

Noman shares the second spot with Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc, with both players holding 843 rating points. India’s Jasprit Bumrah continues to lead the rankings. Noman’s rise follows a reshuffle caused by Australia captain Pat Cummins dropping two places, while Starc moved up after claiming four wickets in Australia’s Boxing Day Test loss to England.

The ranking improvement caps a strong year for Noman in Test cricket. The spinner has taken 30 wickets in four matches, averaging 17.50 with an economy rate of 3.40. His performances include three five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket match returns.

Australia’s Scott Boland also made gains, moving up two places to seventh with a career-high rating of 810. England pacer Josh Tongue recorded one of the biggest jumps, climbing 13 places to 30th after a Player-of-the-Match display against Australia, where he returned figures of 5-45 and 2-44.

Among Pakistani bowlers, Shaheen Shah Afridi slipped one place to 24th, while Mohammad Abbas dropped to 28th and Sajid Khan fell to 29th with 590 points. Abrar Ahmed improved to 50th with 401 points, while Khurram Shahzad and Aamer Jamal retained their 70th and 78th positions, respectively. Asif Afridi remained 95th.

In the ICC Men’s Test batting rankings, Saud Shakeel moved up to ninth with 734 points. Mohammad Rizwan climbed to 21st, while Babar Azam retained 23rd place. Salman Ali Agha rose to 27th with 630 points.

Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood stayed 44th, Imam-ul-Haq ranked 51st, Abdullah Shafique 56th, and Kamran Ghulam slipped to 85th. Aamer Jamal and Saim Ayub are joint 95th.

England’s Joe Root remains at the top of the Test batting rankings, followed by Harry Brook in second after a three-place jump. New Zealand’s Kane Williamson dropped to third.