England legend James Anderson returned to the top of the ICC Test Rankings for bowlers as he dethroned Australia captain Pat Cummins from the numero uno spot on Wednesday.
At 40 years and 207 days, Anderson is the oldest bowler to be ranked No. 1 since Australian Clarence Victor Grimmett in 1936.
Anderson raced to the top spot after his 7-wicket haul for England during their emphatic 267-run victory over New Zealand in the 1st Test at Mount Maunganui last week. England have registered 10 wins from their last 11 Test matches under Brendon McCullum's coaching.
Anderson's rise to the top ends Cummins's four-year reign as the No. 1-ranked Test bowler. Cummins had held the position for 1,466 days.
It is the sixth time that Anderson has held the title as the premier bowler on the Test rankings, with the right-armer first scaling the heights back in May 2016 when he went past teammate Stuart Broad and India spinner R Ashwin to hold top billing in a distinguished international career that commenced way back in 2003.
Anderson is the highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers in Tests and third on the all-time list behind spin duo Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708) with 682 wickets for England.
Oldest bowlers to be ranked No. 1 in Tests
Bert Ironmonger 50y 10m Feb 1933
Clarrie Grimmett 44y 2m Feb 1936
‘Tich’ Freeman 41y 2m Jul 1929
Sydney Barnes 40y 9m Feb 1914
James Anderson 40y 6m Feb 2023
Ashwin could overtake Anderson soon
Anderson's lead at the top is very slender though, with Ashwin remaining in second place on a total of 864 rating points and just two rating points behind the England pacer.
Cummins drops to third on 858 rating points, but could still regain top billing with some strong performances during Australia's ongoing Test series against India.
Jadeja back in top-10
Ashwin's spin twin Ravindra Jadeja also made a big leap in the rankings, moving up seven places to ninth while teammate Axar Patel gained two places to fifth overall on the latest Test all-rounder rankings.
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