On a week dominated by fine bowling performances, the man who ends up as the best cricketer is a batsman - namely Virat Kohli. Whilst he has never been out of form, January was not the most electric month for the super star of world cricket - he set this right in a week which sees his February average rise to 98.25 compared to his 47.7 in January. His 281 runs this week also puts him in the top five run scorers of all time for India and puts him a mere 8 points behind our overall leader, JP Duminy. With Duminy on a run of poor scores and Kohli looking unbeatable, we could see a new overall leader next week.
Ravi Ashwin has not been representing India in the white ball contests against South Africa but makes up a trio of three bowlers who have been excelling in their domestic competitions. 10 wickets plus a top score of 41 runs sees the Indian spinner, who had not played since the 13th January, accrue 310 points in a week and bring him back into the top ten players overall. For the other high performing bowlers, Sunil Narine and Simon Harmer, it has not been all about wickets. The West Indian spinner picked up six wickets this week but has also claimed 70 extra points through some more hugely economical bowling with all of his figures falling under 3. Simon Harmer's performances for the Warriors have been equally as frugal with his highest economy being 2.47.
Perhaps the oddest high-scoring bowler this week has been Ravi Jadeja. Playing his first games of 2018, the Saurashta man has not taken a single wicket in four games - but picked up a hat load of points for frugal bowling as well as bagging a very unlikely 113* against Jharkand. Whilst he has managed to get 301 points this week, it will be a worry to him that he has gone 61.4 overs since his last wicket in List A cricket. It is Jadeja that I have selected this week for my unflattering comparison with David Warner. Luckless Warner got just 6 runs with the bat as part of his score of 56 this week. Jadeja is now three places above him despite playing five fewer games than the Australian and starting the week on 0. Warner is still the second lowest ranked player.
Rashid Khan wraps up, what has been, a good week for spinners. Throughout the BBL he had been battling for superiority with Jofra Archer - however his 270 points picked up whilst playing for Afghanistan has seen him leave his English (?) compatriot in the dust. His nine wickets this week see him placed just inside the overall top ten. With Archer now six places below him, the Nangarhar born superstar is now vying for superiority with the likes of more experienced players like Nathan Lyon or Simon Harmer.
When we focus on outstanding batting and bowling, we need to reserve space for those who have not done so well. This has not been a good week for Quinton de Kock, whose performances have seen him dropped from the South Africa ODI side. More galling for him is the fact that his replacement, Henrich Klassen, was deemed man of the match yesterday. This could see a spell out of the spotlight for De Kock who may see himself in the bottom third of our overall table for a little while.
Ravi Ashwin has not been representing India in the white ball contests against South Africa but makes up a trio of three bowlers who have been excelling in their domestic competitions. 10 wickets plus a top score of 41 runs sees the Indian spinner, who had not played since the 13th January, accrue 310 points in a week and bring him back into the top ten players overall. For the other high performing bowlers, Sunil Narine and Simon Harmer, it has not been all about wickets. The West Indian spinner picked up six wickets this week but has also claimed 70 extra points through some more hugely economical bowling with all of his figures falling under 3. Simon Harmer's performances for the Warriors have been equally as frugal with his highest economy being 2.47.
Perhaps the oddest high-scoring bowler this week has been Ravi Jadeja. Playing his first games of 2018, the Saurashta man has not taken a single wicket in four games - but picked up a hat load of points for frugal bowling as well as bagging a very unlikely 113* against Jharkand. Whilst he has managed to get 301 points this week, it will be a worry to him that he has gone 61.4 overs since his last wicket in List A cricket. It is Jadeja that I have selected this week for my unflattering comparison with David Warner. Luckless Warner got just 6 runs with the bat as part of his score of 56 this week. Jadeja is now three places above him despite playing five fewer games than the Australian and starting the week on 0. Warner is still the second lowest ranked player.
Rashid Khan wraps up, what has been, a good week for spinners. Throughout the BBL he had been battling for superiority with Jofra Archer - however his 270 points picked up whilst playing for Afghanistan has seen him leave his English (?) compatriot in the dust. His nine wickets this week see him placed just inside the overall top ten. With Archer now six places below him, the Nangarhar born superstar is now vying for superiority with the likes of more experienced players like Nathan Lyon or Simon Harmer.
When we focus on outstanding batting and bowling, we need to reserve space for those who have not done so well. This has not been a good week for Quinton de Kock, whose performances have seen him dropped from the South Africa ODI side. More galling for him is the fact that his replacement, Henrich Klassen, was deemed man of the match yesterday. This could see a spell out of the spotlight for De Kock who may see himself in the bottom third of our overall table for a little while.
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