LONDON, CMC – Captain Jason Holder has the chance to break into the top 20 of the ICC one-day bowling rankings, when the three-match One-Day International series against New Zealand bowls off in Whangarei today.
West Indies captain Jason Holder.
The 26-year-old seamer has made steady progress up the bowling charts and was positioned at 27th in the latest rankings released on Monday.
Of the bowlers contesting the series, Holder is the highest-ranked West Indies player, with ninth-ranked off-spinner Sunil Narine opting out the tour for personal reasons.
Holder has taken 18 wickets in 17 ODIs this year and could see further progress up the rankings with solid performances against the Black Caps.
He and Narine are the only West Indies bowlers in the top 50, with the next best-ranked Caribbean player being off-spinner Ashley Nurse at 60th.
In the batting rankings, stroke-maker Shai Hope is the highest-ranked West Indies player in the current side at 62nd, in the absence of the injured Marlon Samuels who lies 48th.
Superstar opener Chrs Gayle, who played his first ODI series in 2-1/2 years last September against England, is 67th while Holder sits two spots lower.
India captain Virat Kohli is the leading batsman while Pakistan seamer Hasan Ali heads the bowlers list.