Melbourne [Australia], December 31 : Australian pacer Mitchell Starc levelled with Pakistan's Noman Ali for a career-best joint-second rank, while Scott Boland made a two-spot jump to seventh spot among bowlers, and Harry Brook, who played a crucial 41-run knock during the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on a bowling paradise, moved up three spots to number two in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Rankings issued on Wednesday.
The Boxing Day Ashes Test saw pacers taking all 36 wickets and the match finishing within two days. England snapped their 18-match winless streak in the Aussie land and registered their first Test win in Australia since 2010/11.
Starting off with the 'Player of the Match', Josh Tongue (5/45 and 2/44), who captured England's first five-wicket haul in a Boxing Day Test at Melbourne in the 21st century, the 28-year-old made a climb of 13 spots and reached number 30 (573 rating points), as per ICC. So far, the English quick has taken 12 scalps at an average of 18.58 in two matches.
A returning Gus Atkinson, who took three wickets in the match, including the key wicket of Travis Head in the first innings with the new ball, climbed four spots to reach 13th with 698 rating points. Pacer Brydon Carse's five wickets, including a second-innings four-fer, helped him rise six spots to number 23.
Atkinson also played a crucial knock of 28 in 35 balls in England's first innings, helping him move to number eight in all-rounder rankings, with his skipper Ben Stokes maintaining his third spot with 316 points.
The runs were really hard to come by on a rigid MCG surface, and Australian bowlers maintained their golden standard as usual, with Starc picking up four wickets in the match and Boland picking up five wickets, including a first-innings three-fer.
Mitchell Starc's four wickets helped him join Noman Ali in a tie for second spot (843), with Scott Boland rising two places to seventh at a rating of 810, both securing new career highs. Starc has been exceptional in the series, registering his best-ever wicket tally in a Test series, with 26 scalps in four matches at an average of 17.42, with best figures of 7/58. Boland is no less, troubling English batters with his impeccable line and length, taking 16 wickets in four matches at an average of 23.00, with a four-fer to his name.
Harry Brook's 41 and unbeaten 18 to see out England's chase helped him climb three spots to second on the Test batting rankings (846), and he is chasing legendary Joe Root (867 rating points) for the top spot. Brook, despite not being able to convert his starts into big scores, is the fifth-highest run-getter of the series with 232 runs in four matches and eight innings at an average of 33.14, with a fifty.
Australia's Steve Smith (9 and 24* in the match) and Travis Head (12 and 46 in the match), as well as New Zealand's Kane Williamson, moved down as a result of Brook's performance.
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