ICC rankings: England's iconic fast bowler James Anderson continues to defy age. The England speedster scaled historic heights on Wednesday when he became the new No.1 Test bowler in the world. Riding on the back of a brilliant seven-wicket haul against New Zealand in the 1st Test, Anderson went past India's Ravi Ashwin and Australia's Pat Cummins to take the pinnacle spot in Test. In the process, the iconic bowler has shattered an 87-year-old record.
Anderson downs 87-year-old feat
The evergreen 40 years and 207 days old fast bowler has become the oldest bowler to take the top spot in the rankings for 87 years. He has shattered the record of Australian great Clarrie Grimmett, who became the No.1 bowler in 1936.
Cummins dethroned from the top spot
Aussie captain Pat Cummins held the top spot in Test bowlers for four years and his reign at the top has now come to an end. Anderson's brilliance took him to 866 rating points, two clear from second-placed Ashwin and eight above third-ranked Cummins.
This is the sixth time Anderson has achieved the top spot in test bowlers rankings. He became the top-ranked bowler in May 2016 for the first time and was more recently the top bowler in May 2018.
Indians also on the rise
Meanwhile, the Indians also scaled a few places in the ICC Test rankings. Following Men in Blue's second Test win against Australia, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel have jumped a few spots. Making a comeback to International Cricket, Ravindra Jadeja has moved up seven places to reach No.9 in the bowlers' list. Whereas, Axar Patel's batting credentials saw him move two places in the all-rounders' tally to reach No.5 in Test cricket.
There were also gains in the batting chart. New Zealand's Tom Blundell and Devon Conway took the 11th and 17th spots, respectively. Whereas, England's Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Ben Duckett were also the gainers.
