South African stars soar in ICC Test rankings after WTC triumph

Dubai

Fresh off their World Test Championship (WTC) final victory over Australia, South Africa’s cricketers have been rewarded with significant gains in the latest ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings, released on Wednesday.

Aiden Markram, who was named Player of the Match for his scintillating 136-run knock, has made the biggest impact, jumping seven places to 11th in the batting rankings. Just two points now separate him from New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell, who holds the 10th spot with 725 points. Markram’s all-round performance also saw him leap a massive 44 places in the bowling rankings, now sitting at 65th after dismissing key Australian batters Steven Smith and Josh Hazlewood.

David Bedingham’s gritty contributions of 45 and 21* in the WTC final have also not gone unnoticed. The middle-order batter rose 17 places to joint-40th, where he now shares the spot with Australian all-rounder Cameron Green.

Among bowlers, South African pacer Lungi Ngidi climbed seven places to 37th after his economical and effective 3/38 spell. Kagiso Rabada, the leader of South Africa’s attack with a 9-wicket match haul, retained his second-place ranking, just behind India’s Jasprit Bumrah.

On the Australian side, Mitchell Starc impressed with both bat and ball. His five wickets and unbeaten 58-run knock elevated him to 10th in both the bowling and all-rounder charts. Beau Webster, Australia’s top scorer in the first innings with 72, jumped 13 places to 70th in the batting list.

These updates highlight a shift in the global Test hierarchy, reflecting the intense battle at the WTC final and the rising stars of the format.