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Cape Town - Proteas fast bowler Dale Steyn has stormed back to the No 1-position in the ICC player rankings for Test bowlers after producing a match-winning performance in his side’s 204-run victory over New Zealand at Centurion on Tuesday.
Steyn, who grabbed five for 33 in the second innings in what was his 26th five-wicket haul, finished with match figures of eight for 99 to regain the top slot.
After reclaiming the No 1 ranking in February 2014 against Australia at Centurion, the 33-year-old had enjoyed the top spot until a shoulder injury in the Durban Test against England in December 2015 limited his bowling.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took advantage of Steyn’s absence and backed up by some strong individual performances, finished the year as the top-ranked bowler.
Steyn has leapfrogged Ashwin and top-ranked England pace bowler James Anderson to take the top slot, which he first occupied jointly with retired Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in April 2008.
Steyn has now been No 1 for a record 263 Tests with Muralitharan coming second on the list at 214 weeks. In terms of days, Steyn has spent 2 320 days at the top, the most by any bowler since World War II.
Steyn’s new ball partners - Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada - have also made significant gains in the latest bowlers’ rankings, which were released on Wednesday.
Philander, who took four wickets in the Centurion Test, has moved from 13th to 11th position, while Rabada has gained three places to rise to 27th position after grabbing five wickets in the match.
The good news for New Zealand is their fast bowler, Neil Wagner, has moved up one slot to ninth position following his six wickets in the match, including a first innings haul of five for 86.
In the ICC player rankings for Test batsmen, Proteas captain Faf du Plessis’s unbeaten century in the first innings has contributed in him moving up the ladder.
Du Plessis scored 112 not out and six in his two innings and has moved up nine places from 33rd rank to 24th. Wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock, who was adjudged man-of-the-match for his knocks of 82 and 50 as well as six dismissals behind the wickets, have seen him move up 18 slots to 32nd.
