Rabada rout fires rise to world No.1

South Africa pace sensation Kagiso Rabada's demolition job on England at Lord's on Monday night has catapulted him to the world's No.1 ranking for one-day bowlers.

The current top-ranked ODI team, South Africa now boast the No.1 bowler and batsman with Proteas skipper AB de Villiers maintaining his position.

Despite thumping England at Lord's after Rabada's new-ball heroics reduced the hosts to 6-20 inside five overs, South Africa lost the three-match series 2-1.

That saw their lead over Australia as the top-ranked ODI side shaved by a point to be just four clear of Steve Smith's men ahead of Thursday's start for the Champions Trophy tournament.

Rabada, who last week celebrated his 22nd birthday, becomes the youngest bowler to hold the world No.1 ODI bowler ranking since Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq in 1998. Mushtaq was 21 years and 13 days old when he claimed the world No.1 ODI bowler ranking on January 11, 1998.

Rabada had been ranked fifth but leapfrogged Imran Tahir, Mitchell Starc and Trent Boult to claim top spot. Boult fell two spots to now lag behind Josh Hazlewood who is now fifth, giving Australia and South Africa two bowlers in the top five each.

Quick Single: Top 10 Champions Trophy bowlers

The team and individual rankings are tightly congested ahead of the Champions Trophy. The top three batsmen – de Villiers, David Warner and Virat Kohli are separated by just 22 points while only 23 points separate Rabada, Tahir and Starc in the bowlers' list.

South Africa, India and England have four batsmen each inside the top 20 with New Zealand (three), Australia and Pakistan (two each) also having significant presence. Similarly, among bowlers, Bangladesh and England have three each inside the top 20, followed by New Zealand, South Africa and Australia with two each. In the all-rounders’ list led by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, there are three players from England in the top 10.

Other players to gain in the rankings after the England-South Africa series include Quinton de Kock (up two places to fourth) and Eoin Morgan (up five places to 17th) while England bowler Liam Plunkett rose seven spots to crack the top 20 in 16th spot.

Champions Trophy 2017 Guide

AUSTRALIA SQUAD: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa

Other squads: Every Champions Trophy squad

Group A: Australia, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh.

Group B: India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan.

Schedule

Warm-up matches

26 May – Australia d Sri Lanka by two wickets, The Oval

27 May – Bangladesh lost to Pakistan by two wickets, Edgbaston

28 May – India d New Zealand by 45 runs (D/L Method), The Oval

29 May – Australia v Pakistan no result, Edgbaston

30 May – New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Edgbaston

30 May – India v Bangladesh, The Oval

Tournament

1 June – England v Bangladesh, The Oval (Day)

2 June – Australia v New Zealand, Edgbaston (D)

3 June – Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval (D)

4 June – India v Pakistan, Edgbaston (D)

5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, The Oval (D/N)

6 June – England v New Zealand, Cardiff (D)

7 June – Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston (D/N)

8 June – India v Sri Lanka, The Oval (D)

9 June – New Zealand v Bangladesh, Cardiff (D)

10 June – England v Australia, Edgbaston (D)

11 June – India v South Africa, The Oval (D)

12 June – Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff (D)

14 June – First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff (D)

15 June – Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston (D)

18 June – Final, The Oval (D)

19 June – Reserve day (D)