England’s Dawid Malan rakes up record batting points in T20 rankings

Cape Town: Dawid Malan has attained the highest-ever rating points for batsmen in the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings after a purple patch saw him top the series aggregate with 173 runs and help England blank South Africa 3-0.

The 33-year-old 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. Malan now enjoys a 44-point lead over Pakistan’s Babar Azam, whom he overtook 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, 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.

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.

England and South Africa will now play three One Day Internationals, starting at Newlands on Friday.