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Green moves up

Cameron Green has advanced towards the top 20 in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings after his unbeaten century helped Australia defeat New Zealand by 172 runs in the first Test of their two-match ICC World Test Championship series in Wellington.

Green, who was named Player of the Match for his 174 not out in the first innings, has moved up 22 places to 23rd position even as his compatriots Steve Smith, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne have slipped down the rankings.

Smith has dropped a position to third (behind Joe Root) after scores of 31 and zero, the first time he has gone below 800 rating points since 2014. Labuschagne is out of the top 10 for the first time since December 2019 after managing just three runs in the match. With Head also slipping one slot, India batters Virat Kohli, Yashaswi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma have all gained in the rankings.

Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon’s 10-wicket match haul, which was the first by a spinner in a Test in New Zealand since Daniel Vettori’s performance against Sri Lanka in Wellington in 2006, has lifted him two places to sixth with the ball. He is now on 797 rating points, just two less than his career-best tally achieved at Edgbaston last year before his Ashes series-ending injury.

For New Zealand, all-rounder Glenn Phillips is the biggest mover, going from 70th to 52nd position in the batting rankings after his first innings score of 71 and from 67th to 48th in the bowling rankings following a haul of five for 45 in the second innings. He has also risen 12 places to 11th among all-rounders.

Matt Henry’s eight wickets in the match have taken him into the top 20 for the first time while Rachin Ravindra (up five places to 76th among batters) and William O’Rourke (up four places to 57th among bowlers) are other Kiwi players to improve their rankings.

The latest weekly update to the men’s rankings that also considers performances in the one-off Test between Afghanistan and Ireland in Abu Dhabi, Mark Adair has moved up 30 slots to 69th position among bowlers after finishing with an eight-wicket match haul that helped Ireland win their first Test in history.

Andy Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Paul Stirling and Andy McBrine have all moved up within the top 100 in the batting rankings.

Afghanistan batter Hashmatullah Shahidi has gained five slots to reach 81st position while Naveed Zadran has moved up 32 places to reach 79th position among bowlers.

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  1. There\’s only one person who witnessed Jim Laker and Anil Kumble taking 10 wickets in an innings – As a 10-year-old Richard Stokes witnessed Jim Laker taking all 10 wickets in the 1956 Old Trafford Test against Australia. Forty-three years later he was in India watching the India vs Pakistan Test and saw Anil Kumble taking all the 10 wickets in an innings. These were the only two Tests Stokes has watched in his life.

  2. The All Blacks are one of the most successful teams in sporting history – The New Zealand All Blacks are one of the most successful teams in sporting history. Since 1903 when they played their first ever game, they have a win percentage of 78% in nearly 600 games. That stat is absolutely crazy when you think about it. They’ve also won 3 Rugby World Cups (though arguably should have won all of them apart from 1991 and 2003). They were also the first rugby team to win 500 test matches, one of many records establishing the All Blacks the world’s best team. Can you imagine winning 78% of all your games you play!?