Australia’s latest debutant Scott Boland saw his dream start substantiated as he entered into 74th place amongst bowlers in the ICC Test Rankings that were released on December 29.
Boland was a key member of the Australian lineup that handed the English an embarrassing defeat at the hallowed Melbourne Cricket Ground. His brilliant spell of 6/7 meant that the Three Lions were skittled for a paltry 68 in the second innings, giving the Aussies a convincing victory by an innings and 14 runs.
Boland had been included in the squad owing to the unavailability of seasoned pacer Josh Hazlewood. The Aussies will now face a selection dilemma, should the New South Wales man recover in time for the fourth Test match.
Boland was also unsurprisingly named man of the match for his top-notch performance which sealed the Ashes in his country’s favour, as the Aussies went up 3-0 in the five-Test match series.
Pat Cummins continued his stellar run at the top of the rankings as he remains the only bowler to have more than 900 points in ICC Rankings. Cummins bowled disciplined spells in both innings, and picked up each of the English top three in the first innings, laying the platform for a huge win.
Australia’s number three, Marnus Labuschagne, on the other hand, held on to his top spot in the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen, despite only scoring one run in the Aussies’ only innings.
This was the only instance when the prolific Queenslander was outscored by each of his teammates in his short but magnificent career so far. Vice-captain Steve Smith dropped down to fourth on the rankings, his lowest ranking since December of 2015, scoring 16 in the solitary Australian innings.
Surprisingly, Mitchell Starc rose to fifth in the all-rounders’ rankings, as he averages 38 in the Ashes currently, playing a string of valuable knocks along the way. Pedigreed English all-rounder, however, dropped to sixth, as he managed just 25 and 11 in the two England innings, while picking up just the one wicket in close to 11 overs.
