Abbas rockets up the ICC rankings

Mohammad Abbas has soared into the top three of the International Cricket Council's Test bowler rankings following his 17-wicket demolition job of Australia in the UAE.

Abbas was the toast of Pakistan after his accurate seam bowling undid Australia in Abu Dhabi, inspiring his team to a 373-run victory that saw them take the two-Test series 1-0.

It's a meteoric rise for the Pakistani. He was ranked 21st in the world by the ICC before this series, and leaped up to 13th after the first Test in Dubai where he took seven wickets.

His 10-wicket haul in Abu Dhabi – with returns of 5-33 in Australia's first-innings collapse, and 5-62 in the second innings – has now seen him ranked only behind England swing bowler James Anderson and South Africa pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada following the ICC's latest update.

South Africa legend Dale Steyn had predicted Abbas would be the new world's No.1 ranked bowler, but will have to wait for Pakistan's next Test series – they play three Tests against New Zealand in the UAE starting in late November – to attempt to fulfil that prophecy.

A late-bloomer in first-class ranks, Abbas is yet to go wicketless in any of his 19 Test innings with the ball, and he's now succeeded in most types of conditions Test cricket can throw his way – from Dominica to Dublin and Dubai.

After just 10 Tests, the right-armer has now taken 59 wickets at the incredible average of 15.64, the fourth lowest of any bowler in history to have taken more than 50 wickets.

"I have played first-class cricket and a lot of things have happened before my eyes," said Abbas. "I suffered hardship in my life, so my focus is on cricket and that has made me mature.

"My focus is to play cricket and focus on my fitness. I want to keep my feet on ground, that has been my life and it has matured me."

Abbas was, unsurprisingly, not the only Pakistan bowler to profit with a haul of rankings points after the series.  Bilal Asif, with nine wickets from his two Tests after his Dubai debut, rose another 17 spots to sit at No.52.

Sarfraz Ahmed's twin returns of 94 and 81 saw him rise to No.25 in the Test batting ranks, a gain of 17 spots, while Babar Azam went up nine spots after his 99.

Usman Khawaja's first innings return of 3 saw him slide one spot to fall out of the batters' top 10. The left-hander, promoted to open in this series, was unable to bat in the second innings after injuring his left knee.

Aaron Finch's strong debut series saw him finish at 59th on the Test batting charts, while Travis Head snuck into the top 100 at 97th.

Shaun Marsh slipped down to 42nd, behind Test hopeful Peter Handscomb who was not selected for this series, while Mitchell Marsh plunged to No.67 in the batting charts to go with his No.62 in the bowling rankings.

ICC Test Rankings

Batters

1 Virat Kohli (India) 910 points

2 Steve Smith (Aus) 847

3 Kane Williamson (NZ) 835

4 Joe Root (Eng) 835

5 David Warner (Aus) 803

6 Cheteshwar Pujara (India) 765

7 Dimuth Karunaratne (SL) 754

8 Dinesh Chandimal (SL) 733

9 Dean Elgar (SA) 724

10 Aiden Markram (SA) 703

Others

11 Usman Khawaja (Aus) 699

42 Shaun Marsh (Aus) 543

55 Tim Paine (Aus) 482

59 Aaron Finch (Aus) 463

67 Mitchell Marsh (Aus) 446

97 Travis Head (Aus) 328

Bowlers

1 James Anderson (Eng) 899 points

2 Kagiso Rabada (SA) 882

3 Mohammad Abbas (Pak) 829

4 Vernon Philander (SA) 826

5 Ravindra Jadeja (Ind) 812

6 Trent Boult (NZ) 795

7 Rangana Herath (SL) 791

8 Pat Cummins (Aus) 784

9 Ravi Ashwin (Ind) 777

10 Jason Holder (WI) 766

Others

12 Josh Hazlewood (Aus) 744

16 Nathan Lyon (Aus) 706

17 Mitchell Starc (Aus) 693      

37 Peter Siddle (Aus) 476

62 Mitchell Marsh (Aus) 264

65 Marnus Labuschagne 250

95 Jon Holland (Aus) 103

Qantas Tour of the UAE

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc

Pakistan Test squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez

First Test: Match drawn

Second Test: Pakistan won by 373 runs