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Why Australia’s Test Bowling Attack Is Dominating the ICC Rankings
Five Australian bowlers are now in the top 10 of the ICC Test rankings. Half the list belongs to Australia. Not since England placed six bowlers in the top 12 in 1958 has one country dominated the Test bowling rankings like this. Starc is at number one. Pat Cummins is fourth. Scott Boland is seventh. Josh Hazlewood is ninth. Nathan Lyon is tenth.
What makes this different from past great attacks is not just talent. Australia’s “spare” bowler is ranked higher than most countries’ first choice. Scott Boland has spent much of his career as a fourth seamer. He holds the best Test bowling average in more than a century among bowlers with a minimum of 2,000 balls bowled. He has taken 62 wickets at 16.53. George Bailey, Australia’s chair of selectors, said Boland is mounting a strong case to be considered one of the “big three.” cricket-info.homes
Cummins has overhauled his gym work in his 30s. Hazlewood does pre-match pool sessions for mobility. Boland installed a red-light therapy sauna at his home before Starc did. Lyon, at 38, returned from a calf injury, saying he was bowling the best he had in about six years. Boland with a 16.53 average when one tires, and Lyon with over 550 Test wickets. There is no “see off this spell” option. The next spell is just as dangerous.
Starc reached the top by changing one thing. He said the shift was mental. He learned to let go of good days, bad days, good overs, and bad spells. That simplicity has carried him to 445 Test wickets from 107 matches. He surpassed Dale Steyn’s 439 during the Mackay Test. At 36, he is not thinking about rankings or records. He is thinking about milking his body for all he can for Test cricket.
Why Australia Are the No. 1 Test Team in the World Right Now
Australia currently holds the number one position in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings. They lead with 126 rating points. South Africa are second with 119 points. India are third with 104 points. Australia trimmed their lead from 15 points to 13 points in the latest annual update.
Australia’s dominance is backed by strong performances. They completed a 3-0 series whitewash of the West Indies in the Caribbean. They also won the Ashes 4-1 against England, successfully defending the urn.
In the World Test Championship standings, Australia are also at the top of the 2025-27 table. They have 8 wins and 2 losses from 10 matches. Their points percentage is 80.00%. They hold a lead over second-placed South Africa, who have 75.00%. Even after a shock loss in the Bangladesh series, Australia remains comfortably at the top.
In April 2026, Australia were ranked number one with 126 points. Their rating has remained the same after the annual update in May. But they still hold a double-digit lead over the rest of the field. The rankings show that Australia are the dominant force in Test cricket at the moment. They are well-positioned to remain at the top for the foreseeable future.
Mitchell Starc Becomes No. 1 Test Bowler for the First Time in His Career
Mitchell Starc has become the number one ranked Test bowler in the world for the first time in his career. The 36-year-old left-armer achieved the top spot after taking a 10-wicket haul against Bangladesh in Mackay. He grabbed six for 12 and four for 39, which earned him Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards. He overtook Matt Henry and Jasprit Bumrah, whom he now leads by 10 rating points.
Bumrah’s reign at the top lasted just two months. He had held the number one position since February 2024. He has a combined 697 days as the top-ranked bowler, which is the most by any Indian bowler. He was ruled out of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka due to injury.
The latest ICC rankings show five Australian bowlers in the top 10. Starc leads, followed by Pat Cummins at number four, Scott Boland at seven, Josh Hazlewood at nine, and Nathan Lyon at ten. Ollie Robinson’s five-wicket haul in the first innings against Pakistan helped him move up 15 spots to number 11. Josh Tongue also progressed 16 places to 17th.
In the batting rankings, Harry Brook doubled his lead at the top. He is now 24 points ahead of his teammate Joe Root. Rishabh Pant returned to the top 10 for the first time in a year, moving up six places to seventh. Cameron Green moved up to 21st, and Sonal Dinusha jumped 49 places to 54th.
FAQs
Q. How many Australian bowlers are in the ICC top 10?
A. Five Australian bowlers are in the top 10.
Q. Who is the current No. 1 Test bowler?
A. Mitchell Starc is the current No. 1 Test bowler.
Q. Which Australian bowler has a 16.53 Test average?
A. Scott Boland has a Test average of 16.53.
Q. How many Test wickets has Mitchell Starc taken?
A. Starc has taken 445 wickets in 107 Tests.
Q. Which team is No. 1 in Test rankings?
A. Australia is currently ranked No. 1 in Tests.
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Joe Root breaks Ricky Ponting's world record despite flop show in Lord's Test against Pakistan
England captain Joe Root has surpassed legendary Ricky Ponting to become the batter with the most home runs in Test cricket history. The 35-year-old has now accumulated 7,594 Test runs in England, moving past Ponting’s tally of 7,578 runs in Australia. India legend Sachin Tendulkar, the leading run-scorer in Test history, sits third on the list with 7,216 runs in home Tests. Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis hold the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
After Panama and Brazil, AIFF adds THIS former World Champion to face India in upcoming international window
Indian football is set for a busy schedule in the upcoming international window as the Blue Tigers will face three strong FIFA World Cup playing nations in the space of 10 days. After Panama and Brazil, two-time world champions Uruguay have now been added to the list.
India will face Panama on September 26 in Bengaluru before taking on five-time world champions Brazil at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on October 3. Three days later, on October 6, Uruguay will arrive at the same venue for another high-profile friendly. The three matches will form a demanding run for the Indian side during the FIFA international window.
Uruguay are two-time world champions, having won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 and lifted the trophy again in 1950. They are currently ranked 20th in the world. The fixture will give Indian players a chance to test themselves against another established football nation after the much-anticipated Brazil game.
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India had initially been invited to take part in the first-ever FIFA ASEAN Cup, which was scheduled to be held in Indonesia. India were drawn alongside the hosts, Singapore and Malaysia.
AIFF initially planned to take part in the tournament while also playing Brazil, even considering separate squads for the two competitions. However, the plan was eventually dropped because of the clash in dates. The ASEAN Cup final was scheduled for October 4, while the Brazil friendly was fixed for October 3.
FIFA’s rules also doesn’t allow sending separate squads.
Instead of making their first appearance in the FIFA ASEAN Cup, AIFF chose the Brazil fixture and then began adding more international friendlies. Panama was confirmed first, followed by Uruguay. Panama, ranked 44th in the world, also featured at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, making the September 26 game another useful test for India.
The national team will miss the chance to play in the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup, but it will instead get three matches against World Cup-level opposition at home.
The Brazil game will attract the biggest attention but Uruguay’s visit adds another important fixture to the calendar. For the players, these matches will be a chance to gain experience against teams with a much higher standing in world football.
Major dhyan chand વિશે ખાસ વાતો, જેમને હિટલરે જર્મની માટે રમવાની આપી હતી ઓફર
ભારતીય હોકી ટીમના ભૂતપૂર્વ કેપ્ટન મેજર ધ્યાનચંદનો જન્મ દિવસ આજે રાષ્ટ્રીય રમત દિવસ તરીકે ઉજવવામાં આવે છે.હોકીના જાદુગર તરીકે જાણીતા,ધ્યાનચંદે તેમની કારકિર્દીમાં 1,000 થી વધુ ગોલ કર્યા હતા.તેઓ ઓલિમ્પિકમાં ત્રણ વખત ગોલ્ડ મેડલ જીતનાર ભારતીય ટીમના સભ્ય હતા.તેમને હોકીના જાદુગર કહેવામાં આવતા હતા,અને હિટલર પણ તેમના રમતથી પ્રભાવિત થયા હતા.તેમણે ભારતીય ખેલાડીને જર્મની માટે રમવાની મંજૂરી આપવાની ઓફર પણ કરી હતી.
મેજર ધ્યાનચંદનો જન્મ અલ્હાબાદમાં થયો
મેજર ધ્યાનચંદનો જન્મ 29 ઓગસ્ટ, 1905 ના રોજ અલ્હાબાદ (હવે પ્રયાગરાજ) માં થયો હતો. જ્યારે તેઓ 16 વર્ષની ઉંમરે 1લી બ્રાહ્મણ રેજિમેન્ટમાં સેનામાં જોડાયા હતા, ત્યારે એવું કહેવાય છે કે તેમને હોકીમાં કોઈ રસ નહોતો. બાદમાં, તેઓ હોકી રમતા હતા, અને આ રમતને કારણે તેમને સેનામાં બઢતી મળી. તેઓ સૈનિક તરીકે સેનામાં જોડાયા અને બાદમાં મેજર બન્યા.
ભારતીય હોકી ટીમે 1928માં ચેમ્પિયન બન્યું
ભારતીય હોકી ટીમે 1928 માં પહેલી વખત ઓલિમ્પિક ગેમ્સમાં ભાગ લીધો હતો. ભારત ચેમ્પિયન બન્યું. મેજર ધ્યાનચંદે ફાઇનલમાં બે ગોલ કર્યા હતા. ત્યારબાદ, ભારતીય હોકી ટીમે 1932ના લોસ એન્જલસ ઓલિમ્પિકમાં ગોલ્ડ મેડલ જીત્યો, જેમાં ધ્યાનચંદ સભ્ય હતા.
હિટલરે જર્મની તરફથી રમવાની ઓફર કરી
1936ના બર્લિન ઓલિમ્પિકમાં ધ્યાનચંદને ભારતીય હોકી ટીમના કેપ્ટન તરીકે નિયુક્ત કરવામાં આવ્યા. ભારતે પહેલી મેચમાં હંગેરીને 4 ગોલથી, બીજી મેચમાં જાપાનને 9 ગોલથી અને ત્રીજી મેચમાં ફ્રાન્સને 10 ગોલથી હરાવ્યું. જર્મની સામે ફાઇનલ 15 ઓગસ્ટના રોજ યોજાઈ હતી અને ભારતે 8-1થી જીત મેળવી હતી.
ધ્યાનચંદ એક સાચા દેશભક્ત હતા
વિરોધી ખેલાડીઓએ ધ્યાનચંદનો ખેલ જોઈને તેમની લાકડી પર શંકા વ્યક્ત કરી હતી. હોલેન્ડમાં, તેમની લાકડી તોડી નાખવામાં આવી હતી જેથી તેઓ ચુંબકથી રમી રહ્યા છે કે નહીં તે જોઈ શકાય. વિયેનામાં ધ્યાનચંદની પ્રતિમામાં તેમને ચાર હાથમાં ચાર હોકી સ્ટીક પકડેલા દર્શાવવામાં આવ્યા છે. જર્મનીના રુડોલ્ફ હિટલર પણ ધ્યાનચંદના ખેલથી પ્રભાવિત થયા હતા અને તેમને જર્મની તરફથી રમવાની ઓફર પણ કરી હતી. જોકે, ધ્યાનચંદ એક સાચા દેશભક્ત હતા જે હંમેશા ભારત માટે રમવા માંગતા હતા.
3 ડિસેમ્બર 1979ના રોજ રમત વિરનું અવસાન થયું
તેમણે 1926થી 1949 દરમિયાન ભારતીય રાષ્ટ્રીય ટીમ માટે 185 મેચ રમી હતી, જેમાં 570 ગોલ કર્યા હતા.તેઓ સેન્ટર ફોરવર્ડ તરીકે રમ્યા હતા. ત્રણ ઓલિમ્પિક સુવર્ણ ચંદ્રક જીતનાર ટીમના સભ્ય હોવા ઉપરાંત, તેઓ 1934માં પશ્ચિમ એશિયાટિક રમતોમાં સુવર્ણ ચંદ્રક જીતનાર ટીમના સભ્ય પણ હતા. 3 ડિસેમ્બર 1979ના રોજ મેજર ધ્યાનચંદનું 74 વર્ષની વયે અવસાન થયું.
સન્માન
મેજર ધ્યાનચંદને1956 માં હોકીમાં તેમના યોગદાન બદલ પદ્મ ભૂષણથી નવાજવામાં આવ્યા હતા. ભારતનો સર્વોચ્ચ રમતગમત સન્માન, મેજર ધ્યાનચંદ ખેલ રત્ન એવોર્ડ, તેમના નામ પરથી રાખવામાં આવ્યો હતો, જે અગાઉ રાજીવ ગાંધી ખેલ રત્ન એવોર્ડ હતો. રમતગમતમાં આજીવન સિદ્ધિ માટેનો એવોર્ડ તેમના નામ પરથી રાખવામાં આવ્યો છે.