Anderson recalled the record of becoming number one at the age of 40

 

Andersson tops Test bowlers rankings | Photo: AFP

James Anderson is giving new life to the cliché 'Age is just a number'. Otherwise what can be a top ranked bowler even at this age! Anderson took 7 wickets in the pink ball Test against the Kiwis on New Zealand soil.

Which has an impact on the ranking. The English pacer aged 40 years and 207 days returned to the top of the list of bowlers of this edition of ICC. Test cricket last saw a 40-year-old bowler top the rankings in 1936.

The ICC's 'historic' rankings say Australian pacer Clary Grimmett became number one in 1936 at the age of 44 years and 2 months. But Grimmett is not number one on the list of oldest number ones.

In 1933, Australian left-arm spinner Bart Ironmonger became number one at the age of 50 years and 10 months. In all, James Anderson is number five in the oldest number one record. The other two over 40 number one's are 'Tick' Freeman (41 years 2 months) and Sidney Burns (40 years 9 months).

Anderson bowling brilliantly on England's way to victory - Broad | Image: AFP

After 15 years in New Zealand, Anderson made a big contribution to England's Test match win. He took a total of 7 wickets in two innings in that match. He has advanced two steps in the ranking. Pat Cummins dropped two places to number three on the day of Anderson's rise to the top.

Cummins was demoted after not performing in the first two Tests of the series against India. Cummins took 2 wickets in 20.3 overs in the first Test in Nagpur. He took 1 wicket in 13 overs in the first innings of the second Test. But in the second innings he didn't bowl a single ball.

The Australian captain lost the number one spot after being at the top for 1466 consecutive days. But Anderson's top position is going to be difficult for him to hold. Because Ravichandran Ashwin is at number two. The Indian spinner has a rating of 864, which is just 2 less than Anderson.

Australia's batsmen have no answer to Ashwin's spin in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He took 14 wickets in the first two Tests. There are still two Tests left in this series. Where Ashwin has a chance to perform and rise to the top.

Anderson reached the top for the sixth time in a long career. After debuting in this edition in 2003, he topped the list for the first time in 2016. The last Test bowler was at the top of the rankings in 2018. Anderson lost the top spot to South African pacer Kagiso Rabada in November that year.

Ravindra Jadeja has advanced in the ranking of Test bowlers. This spinner, who took 10 wickets in the Delhi Test, has moved up seven places to number 9. As usual, Jadeja is number one in the ICC Test all-rounder rankings.

Jadeja took 10 wickets in the last Test | Pic: AFP

Tom Blundell, who scored a century against England, moved up 4 places to 11th place. Devon Conway, who played a fifty-plus innings in that match, advanced 5 places to number 17. This is the career best position of both the New Zealand batsmen. England's Ollie Pope (23rd), Harry Brook (31st) and Ben Duckett (38th) have improved in the list.