ENG v WI 2020: Jason Holder makes significant gains in ICC Test rankings for bowlers and all-rounders

Holder claimed seven-wicket haul in West Indies' four-wicket win in the first Test against England.

After leading his team to a famous four-wicket win in the first Test against England, Jason Holder on Tuesday (July 14) achieved the highest rating points by any West Indies bowler in 20 years.

The Caribbean skipper, who claimed seven wickets across the two innings in Southampton, now holds the career-best second position in the ICC Test bowling rankings with 862 rating points – the best for any West Indies bowler since Courtney Walsh's tally of 866 in August 2000.

See Also: "One of our best victories", Holder jubilant after win in Southampton Test 

Indian cricketers, who are out of action since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have retained their places in the top-10 rankings for batsmen and bowlers.

Skipper Virat Kohli occupies the second spot in the batsmen list behind Steve Smith while Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane remain seventh and ninth respectively. Jasprit Bumrah is the only Indian bowler in the top-10 at seventh spot.

Holder also made significant gains in the all-rounders’ list. He has reached a career-best tally of 485 points and finds himself at the pinnacle. The competition at the top promises to gain momentum as number-two Ben Stokes has also taken big stride to attain a career-best tally of 431 points, narrowing the lead from 66 to 54 points.

Stokes, who led England for the first time in the absence of Joe Root at the Ageas Bowl, has equalled his career-high ninth position among batsmen after scores of 43 and 46 in the series opener. He is now only one place behind Root in the batting chart and has also jumped three places in the bowlers' list to 23rd position with six wickets in the opening Test.

Other England players to climb the rankings ladder include left-handed opener Rory Burns, who is in the top 30 for the first time after scores of 30 and 42, while middle-order batsman Zak Crawley is in the top 100 after amassing 86 runs in the match.

From the West Indies side, Shannon Gabriel has gained 46 points to reach a tally of 726 with a Player-of-the-Match effort of nine wickets in Southampton. However, the speedster could only improve one place to 18th because of the wide gap between him and Ravindra Jadeja (722) before the match.

Jermaine Blackwood's fabulous knock of 95 in the second innings saw him advance 14 slots to 58th position among batsmen while Shane Dowrich is at a career-best 37th spot after scores of 61 and 20.

(With PTI inputs)