AB de Villiers has dropped down to third in the latest ICC rankings for Test batsman.
Australia’s Steve Smith and England’s Joe Root are now joint at the top on 886 points, with De Villiers sliding down to No 3 on 877, one more than New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
A strong showing in the fourth Test in New Delhi could see De Villiers regain top billing.
Ravi Ashwin, South Africa’s chief tormentor in the ongoing series in India, has achieved career-best gains in the rankings for bowlers after his 12 wickets in Nagpur helped India clinch the series 2-0 with a game to play.
Australia’s Josh Hazlewood produced man-of -the-match figures of 9-136 runs as Australia clinched the three-Test series against New Zealand 2-0 inside three days in the inaugural day/night Test. In doing so, the 24-year-old also passed the 50-wickets milestone (53 wickets in 12 Test matches to date) and soared 10 places to 10th
India could move as high as second place in the ICC Test Championship if they win the fourth Test which starts on Thursday, 3 December.
Ashwin’s ascent means that James Anderson and Yasir Shah drop to joint third on 846 points, while Stuart Broad falls to fifth. Despite dropping three places to 18th, there was good news for Peter Siddle who reached the 200 Test wicket milestone in Adelaide.
Other bowlers to head in the right direction during the Nagpur and Adelaide Tests include Amit Mishra (up two to 31st) who joins Imran Tahir (up by 14 places to 35th) in making career-high gains, while Black Caps bowler Doug Bracewell is one place and a single point further back in 36th after gaining four places. There were also career-high gains for Mitchell Marsh (up five to 55th) and Dean Elgar (up five to 68th) in a list which continues to be led by South Africa’s Dale Steyn.
ICC Test batsman rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points |
| 1= | (+1) | Steve Smith | Aus | 886 |
| (+3) | Joe Root | Eng | 886 | |
| 3 | (-2) | AB de Villiers | SA | 877 |
| 4 | (-2) | Kane Williamson | NZ | 876 |
| 5 | (-) | David Warner | Aus | 862 |
| 7 | (-1) | Hashim Amla | SA | 836 |
ICC Test bowler rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points |
| 1 | (-) | Dale Steyn | SA | 884 |
| 2 | (+3) | Ravi Ashwin | Ind | 856 |
| 3= | (-1) | James Anderson | Eng | 846 |
| (-1) | Yasir Shah | Pak | 846 | |
| 5 | (-1) | Stuart Broad | Eng | 840 |
| 7 | (-) | Vernon Philander | SA | 754 |
| 9 | (-) | Morne Morkel | SA | 733 |
