James Anderson has moved up four places to fifth position in the latest Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings after a fine start to the Champions Trophy.
The talismanic seamer has picked up eight wickets in England’s three games so far in the tournament and has been rewarded with a surge up the bowling rankings, which is headed by West Indian spinner Sunil Narine.
Captain Alastair Cook is also moving in the right direction, now up to eighth place in the batting rankings, aided by successive half-centuries against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
After continuing his impressive form in the middle-order, Joe Root has climbed seven places to nestle in 35th position while Ian Bell has moved inside the top twenty.
Ominously for Cook’s side, their semi-final opponents tomorrow, South Africa, boast the top two ODI batsman in the world according to the latest figures, with skipper AB de Villiers and team-mate Hashim Amla occupying the top spots.
England should fancy their chances, however, as they are placed ahead of the Proteas in the ODI Championship, sitting in second place behind India.