(ICC) New Zealand pace bowler Trent Boult has gained three places to reach fourth position in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Player Rankings after his team completed a 3-0 series victory over the Windies in Christchurch on Tuesday.
The left-arm pace bowler has leapfrogged the Australia pair of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood as well as South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada after finishing with 10 wickets in the series, which included a career-best haul of seven for 34 in the second match in Christchurch.
Boult had finished last year as the top-ranked bowler in ODIs, a place held by Pakistan pace bowler Hasan Ali in what is the last ODI ranking update for the year. India captain Virat Kohli, who slipped in the T20I rankings for batsmen after missing the three-match home series against Sri Lanka, remains on top in ODIs.
Boult’s team-mate Mitchell Santner has also moved into the top 10 after finishing with three for 15 in his only appearance in the series. The left-arm spinner has gained four slots to reach 10th position after his fine performance in the final match, which was reduced to 23 overs per side and which the home side won by 66 runs.
Doug Bracewell (up 15 places to 77th) has also moved up the bowling rankings for the home side while Ross Taylor (up four places to 11th) and Henry Nicholls (up 30 places to 90th) were the other main gainers among batsmen.
For the Windies, left-handed opener Evin Lewis has moved up 11 places to take 65th position after finishing with 86 runs from two matches while Rovman Powell has advanced 11 slots to take 127th position among batsmen. Among bowlers, captain Jason Holder has moved up six places to take 21st position after finishing with five wickets in the series.
There has been no change of positions in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings as New Zealand have gained one point to reach 112 points and remain in fifth position in a table led by South Africa while the Windies have lost one point and are still in ninth place.
Doug Bracewell (up 15 places to 77th) has also moved up the bowling rankings.
The year would not have ended as desired for the Windies, who after failing to secure a direct qualifying berth for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, are due to play in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 in Zimbabwe in March.
Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland and host Zimbabwe are the other teams confirmed for the 10-team Qualifier with the lineup due to be completed in Namibia in February 2018 when the finalists of the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 will book their berths.
Two teams from the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 will join Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 to be staged in the United Kingdom.
MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 27 December, after the New Zealand-Windies series):
Rank Team Points
South Africa 121
India 119
Australia 114
England 114
New Zealand 112 (+1)
Pakistan 99
Bangladesh 92
Sri Lanka 84
West Indies 76 (-1)
Afghanistan 54
Zimbabwe 52
Ireland 41
