Mathews back in top 20 after Harare double-century

Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews is back among the top 20 batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after helping his side win by 10 wickets in Harare to take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series against Zimbabwe.

In the latest rankings update that also includes the Port Elizabeth Test, which England won by an innings and 53 runs to go 2-1 ahead in the four-Test series, Mathews has advanced eight places to reach 16th  position after his unbeaten 200 in Harare.

The former Sri Lanka captain’s best ranking was third, achieved in August 2014, while he has also been among the top 10 among batsmen in ODIs.

Other Sri Lanka batsmen to progress in the rankings are Kusal Mendis (30th to 26th) and Dhananjaya de Silva (39th to 37th) while Suranga Lakmal (26th to 22nd) and Lahiru Kumara (32nd to 30th) have moved up the list for bowlers. For Zimbabwe, Sikandar Raza has advanced seven places and is now ranked 72nd among bowlers.

England’s Ollie Pope, Player of the Match for his unbeaten 135 in Port Elizabeth, has moved up 52 slots to 61st place while Sam Curran and Dom Sibley have advanced four slots each to reach 64th and 76th positions, respectively.

Ben Stokes has equaled his career-best second ranking among all-rounders after his knock of 120. He has moved back to the spot he had occupied in August last year while he is presently ranked 10th among batsmen and 29th among bowlers.

Off-spinner Dominic Bess’s five-wicket haul in the first innings has lifted him 49 places to 62nd, while Curran, Jack Leach and Stuart Broad have gained one slot each in the bowlers’ list.