Hobart, Australia, - South Africa players Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada have continued to move up the rankings after impressive performances in the second Test in Hobart, helping their side take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series against Australia.
Wicketkeeper-batsman de Kock and pace bowler Kagiso Rabada, both stars of past ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cups, have achieved career-best rankings after having already broken into the top-20 following fine performances in the opening Test in Perth.
De Kock top-scored in the Hobart Test with a knock of 104 to move up eight places to 12th position in the latest MRF ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, which were released on Wednesday morning.
Rabada has jumped four places to take 16th slot in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers. Rabada grabbed five wickets in the match, including four for 34 in the second innings.
Both de Kock and Rabada are still in the qualification period, which means they have a good chance of making more gains in the day-night Test in Adelaide, which starts on November 24.
In other gains for South Africa players, man of the match Kyle Abbott's nine wickets have helped him move up 20 places to a career-best 36th position, batsman Tenda Bavuma's innings of 74 has lifted him to a career-best 39th rank, while all-rounder Vernon Philander has returned to the top 10 among bowlers and the top five among all-rounders with match figures of five for 52 and 32 with the bat.
For Australia, Usman Khawaja's scores of four and 64 have helped him move up five places to 29th position in the batsmen's list, which is headed by his captain Steve Smith.
In the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, South Africa is now eyeing fourth position after taking a 2-0 lead. To make this happen, they will have to win the day/night Test which starts in Adelaide next Thursday.
In this scenario, South Africa will jump from 96 points to 105 points in fourth position, while Australia will slip from 108 points to 102 points to take fifth position.
Australia, in contrast, can avoid dropping behind South Africa if it manages to win or draw the Adelaide Test. If it wins, then it will finish behind England in fourth position by a fraction of a point, whereas a draw will keep it ahead of South Africa at 103 points on decimal points.
African News Agency (ANA)