Media Release – ICC Rankings Update
England’s star pacer Jofra Archer has made a sensational jump in the ICC Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings, climbing 16 places to a career-best third position after a stellar performance in England’s recent ODI series against South Africa.
Despite South Africa winning the series 2-1 – their first ODI series victory in England since 1998 – Archer’s return to form was one of the major talking points. He claimed 4 for 62 in the second ODI and 4 for 18 in the third, the latter helping England secure a record 342-run victory in Southampton. Archer’s previous highest ranking was eighth, achieved in September 2020.
His teammate Adil Rashid also impressed, moving seven places to eighth after taking eight wickets in the series at an average of 9.00 and an economy rate of 4.07 – his best ranking progress since 2017.
South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj maintained his No.1 position in the ODI Bowling Rankings, having taken two wickets in each of the final two games.
In the batting department, Joe Root returned to the top 20 for the first time in two years, moving five slots to 19th after scoring 61 and 100 in the second and third ODIs. Jos Buttler climbed seven places to 35th following scores of 62 and 61 not out*, while South Africa’s Matthew Breetzke surged 44 slots to 64th, becoming the first player to score 50+ in each of his first five ODIs. England’s Jacob Bethell followed closely, rising 56 places to 65th.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s triumph in the 2025 UAE T20I Tri-Nation Series against hosts UAE and Afghanistan brought major gains in the ICC Men’s T20I Rankings.
Fakhar Zaman (leading run-scorer) moved nine places to 68th in the batting list.
Sufiyan Muqeem jumped seven slots to 15th among bowlers.
Abrar Ahmed leapt 39 places to joint-27th after impressive spells of 4/9 vs UAE and 2/17 vs Afghanistan.
Shaheen Shah Afridi rose four slots to 22nd, while Mohammad Nawaz, the Player of the Series, climbed 13 places to 30th after a stunning five-wicket haul (5/19) including a hat-trick in the final against Afghanistan, earning a career-best 563 rating points.
Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad soared 40 places to joint-33rd among bowlers.
Elsewhere, Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera moved three spots to ninth after his unbeaten half-century against Zimbabwe, while Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza advanced three places to fourth in the ICC Men’s T20I All-Rounders Rankings.
