Jason Holder has become the number one all-rounder in the world after his man-of-the-match performance against England in Barbados – the first West Indian to top the rankings since Sir Garfield Sobers.
Holder hit a superb unbeaten 202 in the first Test at Bridgetown and also chipped in with two wickets in the 381-run victory.
He now jumps ahead of Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and India’s Ravindra Jadeja in the International Cricket Council rankings, while England’s Ben Stokes remains in fourth place.
Sobers, an all-time great of the game, last topped the rankings in 1974 and was at the Kensington Oval to witness Holder’s triumphant performance.
James Anderson stays second in the bowling charts, with Joe Root fifth among the batsmen.
Meanwhile, West Indies chief executive Johnny Grave has criticised a lack of respect for his side from former England captains Geoffrey Boycott and Andrew Flintoff.
Boycott used a newspaper column ahead of the Test series to label the Caribbean side “very ordinary, average cricketers”, while Flintoff tweeted his disbelief at Holder’s brilliant innings as the thrashing unfolded.
Grave, an Englishman previously employed by the Professional Cricketers’ Association, was left unimpressed.
“Former players have said some stuff I think is unwarranted and borderline disrespectful,” he told Test Match Special.
“I saw Andrew Flintoff say he can’t believe Jason Holder got a double hundred, yet I think Jason Holder is a fantastic cricketer and has been performing so fantastically over the last 18 months – a brilliant captain.
“Criticism of our players and suggestions that they’re not world class is unfair. It doesn’t seem to happen when England play other opposition. I think it’s unwarranted and not true. I’m hoping everyone gets to see that in the next few weeks of this series.”
Provided by Press Association Sport
