DUBAI: South African pacer Kagiso Rabada has moved up four places to take the top spot and became the youngest bowler to top the list since Pakistan’s spin maestro Saqlain Mushtaq in the ICC player rankings for ODI bowlers.

Top-ranked South Africa lost their three-match series to England 2-1 but former U-19 World Cup star Rabada’s haul of 4-39 in the final match at Lord’s on Monday helped him finish the series with seven wickets.

Rabada, 22, has displaced his compatriot Imran Tahir whom he leads by two points.

With captain A.B. de Villiers top-ranked among batsmen, South Africa now have the top two bowlers as well as four players in the top 10 of the ICC player rankings for ODI batsmen — Quinton de Kock (fourth), Faf du Plessis (sixth) and Hashim Amla (10th) being the others.

The intense competition in the individual rankings justifies the tournament’s name as players from the eight participating teams feature prominently in it and not much separates the top players in the fray.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2017