Malan reaches record ICC Rankings heights after spanking Proteas

Dawid Malan has achieved the highest-ever rating points for batsmen in the T20I Player Rankings after the series against South Africa.

Malan shoots up rankings

Malan enjoyed a stellar run that saw him top the series aggregate with 173 runs and help England whitewash South Africa 3-0.

The left-hander has reached 915 points, the first to cross the 900-point mark after Australian Aaron Finch’s 900-point achievement in July 2018. 

The 33-year-old Englishman now enjoys a 44-point lead over Pakistan’s Babar Azam, whom he supplanted to become number one in September this year.

Malan’s player of the series performance included a match-winning 99 not out in the final match and helped England leapfrog Australia to take top position in the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings.

England on top of the world

England, who had started the series at 271 points, are now level with Australia at 275 points but ahead on decimal points. South Africa and New Zealand retain their fifth and sixth positions while the West Indies have slipped behind Afghanistan to 10th place after losing 2-0 to New Zealand in another series, performances of which are also included in Wednesday’s rankings update.

England’s Jos Buttler has gained seven spots to reach 21st position while South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen’s continued good form, which saw him score 136 runs in the series, has lifted him 17 places to a career-best fifth position. Faf du Plessis’s return to form, with an aggregate of 121 runs, has pushed him into the top 20.

Among the bowlers, England’s leg-spinner Adil Rashid is back to the 700-point mark, gaining three places to reach number 4. He is just one spot below his career-best third position achieved in November 2018. The top seven bowlers are all spinners, with Tabraiz Shamsi, South Africa’s top-ranked bowler in 5th place.

Chris Jordan, who became England’s leading T20I wicket-taker in the third match against South Africa with his 66th wicket, has gained one place to reach 12th rank.

Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi makes an entry into the top 50 bowlers for the first time after taking four wickets in the series. His previous best was 67th in September this year.

Ferguson on the charge

The series in New Zealand saw the home side’s Lockie Ferguson leap 45 slots to 32nd position after finishing as the most successful bowler in the series with seven wickets, which included a player of the match effort of five for 21 in the first match.

Glenn Phillips celebrated his recall to the New Zealand T20I side for the first time in two years by smashing a century in the second match and climbing into the top 100 batsmen for the first time – ending the series in 86th place. 

Kieron Pollard was the West Indian star of the series, scoring 103 runs at a strike rate of 198. That was good enough to take him up 18 places to the 57th rank with the bat and up to seventh place in the all-rounders’ table.

 ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings (as of 2 December 2020)

Batting (top 10)

Rank	(+/-)	Player	Team	Pts	Avge	S/R	Highest Rating
1	(-)	Dawid Malan	England	915	53.43	149	915 v SA at Cape Town 2020
2	(-)	Babar Azam	Pakistan	871	50.93	130	896 v ENG at Cardiff 2019
3	(-)	Aaron Finch	Australia	835	38.43	155	901 v Zim at Harare 2018
4	(-)	KL Rahul	India	824	45.65	146	854 v Eng at Old Trafford 2018
5	(+)	Rassie van der Dussen	South Africa	744*!	38.71	137	744 v Eng at Cape Town 2020
6	(-)	Colin Munro	New Zealand	739	31.34	156	830 v Pak at Dubai 2018
7	(-)	Glenn Maxwell	Australia	696	33.52	158	838 v SL at Adelaide 2019
8	(-)	Hazratullah Zazai	Afghanistan	676*	40.71	155	736 v WI at Lucknow 2019
9	(-)	Virat Kohli	India	673	50.80	138	897 v Eng at Edgbaston 2014
10	(-)	Eoin Morgan	England	662	30.37	139	872 v India at Old Trafford 2011
10	(+)	Rohit Sharma	India	662	32.62	139	719 v WI at Lucknow 208

Bowling (top 10)

Rank	(+/-)	Player	Team	Pts	Avge	Econ	Highest Rating
1	(-)	Rashid Khan	Afghanistan	736	12.62	6.14	816 v Ban at Dehradun 2018
2	(-)	Mujeeb Ur Rahman	Afghanistan	730	17.72	6.15	745 v Ire at Greater Noida 2020
3	(-)	Ashton Agar	Australia	706	20.86	6.87	717 v Eng at Southampton 2020
4	(+)	Adil Rashid	England	700	25.80	7.52	716 v WI at St Kitts 2019
5	(-)	Tabraiz Shamsi	South Africa	680	33.28	7.68	699 v Eng at Paarl 2020
6	(-)	Adam Zampa	Australia	679	20.86	6.56	720 v SL at Brisbane 2019
7	(-)	Mitchell Santner	New Zealand	643	21.70	7.56	724 v Pak at Wellington 2018
8	(-)	Kane Richardson	Australia	641	25.81	7.69	664 v Eng at Southampton 2020
9	(+)	Imad Wasim	Pakistan	637	21.93	6.13	780 v WI at Trinidad 2017
10	(-)	Sheldon Cottrell	West Indies	634	21.81	7.89	648 v NZ at Auckland 2020

All-rounders (top five)

Rank	(+/-)	Player	Team	Pts	Highest Rating
1	(-)	Mohammad Nabi	Afghanistan	294	355 v Ban at Mirpur 2019
2	(-)	Shakib Al Hasan	Bangladesh	268	409 v Pak at Mirpur 2015
3	(-)	Glenn Maxwell	Australia	220	368 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2016
4	(+1)	Richie Berrington	Scotland	194	204 v Ire at Malahide 2019
5	(-1)	Sean Williams	Zimbabwe	190	225 v Nepal at Singapore 2019

For more information on player rankings, please click here.