Holder inches closer to No.1 Test bowler after world-class 6-wicket haul at Southampton

West Indies skipper Jason Holder moved to the second position on the ICC Test rankings for bowlers after his world-class six-wicket haul against England in the first Test at Southampton. The Men in Maroon scored an emphatic four-wicket win against the hosts in the first game which marked the resumption of international cricket following the 117-day break enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Jason Holder, on Tuesday, attained the highest rating points by any West Indies bowler in 20 years, reaching a career-best second place, displacing New Zealand's Neil Wagner.

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Jason Holder moves one step closer to top

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Australia's Steve Smith remained at the top of the ICC Test batsmen's rankings while Indian skipper and run-machine Virat Kohli retained the second place. Other England players to move up the rankings include left-handed opener Rory Burns, who is in the top 30 for the first time after scores of 30 and 42, while middle-order batsman Zak Crawley is in the top 100 after accumulating 86 runs in the match. Jermaine Blackwood's superb second-innings knock of 95 has helped him advance 14 slots to 58th position among batsmen while Shane Dowrich is at a career-best 37th position after scores of 61 and 20. Holder also retained the number one position in the all-rounder's ranking followed by his England counterpart Ben Stokes at number two. For the visiting side, Shannon Gabriel has gained 46 points to reach a tally of 726 with a player-of-the-match effort of nine wickets but risen only one place to 18th owing to the wide gap between him and Ravindra Jadeja (722) before the match. 

Windies to be rewarded with bonuses if they win series

As per reports in the Daily Mail, the West Indies cricketers will be getting a maximum bonus of £1,875 each if they manage to win the ongoing ENG vs WI Test series. The current contracts as issued by Cricket West Indies does not grant win bonuses to the players. However, if they win the upcoming ENG vs WI second Test, a total of £23,800 will be awarded to the entire West Indies team. 

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The report indicates that around half of the bonuses will be shared equally among the 15-man West Indies squad. Meanwhile, the other half will be divided among the players who featured in the playing XI at some stage of the ENG vs WI Test series. If all 15 cricketers end up participating in at least one of the Test matches, then the allotment of £1,875 per person will drop down to £1,600 per cricketer. On the other hand, the England Test squad will be receiving approximately 17 times more than their visiting opponents if they manage to stage a comeback through the remaining matches.

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(With agency inputs)