Anderson becomes number-one ranked Test bowler

James Anderson took three for 36 and five for 58, and, in doing so, has leapfrogged team-mate Stuart Broad and India’s Ravichandran Ashwin into the coveted number-one position.

England's James Anderson in action against Sri Lanka.

England’s James Anderson has topped the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers for the first time in his career after bowling his side to a nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test at Chester-le-Street on Monday.

Anderson took three for 36 and five for 58, and, in doing so, has leapfrogged team-mate Stuart Broad and India’s Ravichandran Ashwin into the coveted number-one position. He now leads Broad by 15 points and Ashwin by 13 points.

Anderson is the fourth England bowler to top the bowlers’ table since Ian Botham first achieved this feat in 1980. Steve Harmison stormed up the chart in 2004, while Broad vaulted to the number-one position earlier this year following the Johannesburg Test against South Africa.

Broad, who took five wickets in the Test, has slipped behind Ashwin to third place after conceding three points.

Other bowlers to improve their rankings post the Chester-le-Street Test are Nuwan Pradeep (43rd, up by five places), Milinda Siriwardana (50th, up by 13 places) and Chris Woakes (73rd, up by 16 places).