Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla all moved up in the latest ICC Test rankings following the fourth Test at Centurion.
South Africa won the match by 280 runs, but lost the series 2-1. Rabada took 13-144 in the match and is quickly becoming a key player for the Proteas, while Amla has found some form again after a disappointing 2015.
Rabada, who took 14 wickets in South Africa’s successful campaign at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2014, had bowling figures of 7-112 and 6-32 which saw him jump 32 places to 30th on the Test rankings for bowlers.
Rabada had started the series in 122nd position and has gained 92 places after earning 447 points following his 22 wickets in the series. As Rabada is still in the qualification period for bowlers, he is expected to move further up the ladder, depending on how he performs later this year. A bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets, and the 20-year-old has so far taken 24 wickets in six Tests.
De Kock scored his maiden unbeaten Test century in the final Test against England. As a result, he has broken into the top 50 for the first time, occupying the 48th position after rising 27 places.
Amla scored 109 and 96 in the Centurion Test which moved him up four places to No 4 on the ICC rankings for Test batsmen. He now trails Kane Williamson and Joe Root, both joint-second, by 29 points, while No 1-ranked Steve Smith is 39 points ahead.
Stokes has achieved career-high rankings in the bowlers’ and all-rounders’ categories. He has moved up three places to 27th in the bowling table, while he has leapfrogged Vernon Philander and Ravindra Jadeja into fourth place in the all-rounders’ list.
Other players to head in the right direction following the Centurion Test are Morne Morkel, who has gained two places and is now 10th in the bowling table, and England’s Moeen Ali, who has earned five places and is now in 45th spot in the batting charts.
Outside the top 50 opener Stephen Cook, who scored 115 and 25, has entered in 55th position, while Temba Bavuma has climbed 18 places and is now in 56th spot following scores of 35 and 78 not out.
India are now officially the No 1 Test side in the world, dethroning South Africa who have slipped down to third following their second consecutive series defeat.
ICC Test rankings for teams
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | India | 110 |
| 2 | Australia | 109 |
| 3 | South Africa | 109 |
| 4 | Pakistan | 106 |
| 5 | England | 102 |
ICC Test rankings for batsmen
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points |
| 1 | (-) | Steve Smith | Aus | 899 |
| 2 | (+1) | Kane Williamson | NZ | 889 |
| = | (-) | Joe Root | Eng | 889 |
| 4 | (+4) | Hashim Amla | SA | 860 |
| 5 | (-) | David Warner | Aus | 854 |
| 7 | (-3) | AB de Villiers | SA | 818 |
| 27 | (-2) | Dean Elgar | SA | 602 |
| 46 | (-1) | JP Duminy | SA | 479 |
| 48 | (+27) | Quinton de Kock | SA | 472 |
ICC Test ranking for bowlers
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points |
| 1 | (-) | Stuart Broad | Eng | 872 |
| 2 | (-) | Ravi Ashwin | Ind | 871 |
| 3 | (+1) | Yasir Shah | Pak | 846 |
| 4 | (-1) | Dale Steyn | SA | 841 |
| 5 | (-) | James Anderson | SA | 805 |
| 10 | (+2) | Morne Morkel | SA | 724 |
| 30 | (+32) | Kagiso Rabada | SA | 469 |
