Lyon spins his way into top 10 rankings

The plaudits keep coming for in-form Australia spinner Nathan Lyon, who has achieved a new career best in the official ICC Test player rankings.

Lyon's record-breaking 22 wickets in the drawn Test series with Bangladesh, including the 13-154 he took in Chittagong, have seen him rocket up the Test bowler rankings and into the world's top 10 for the first time.

Lyon is now ranked eight, having leapt nine spots after a performance that saw him re-write numerous records, including the best Test figures by an Australian in Asia, and overtaking Richie Benaud and Jason Gillespie on Australia's all-time wicket-taking list.

And David Warner's back-to-back centuries in subcontinent Tests have seen him climb higher in the Test batter rankings, returning to fifth spot.

Warner's scores of 112 in Dhaka and 123 in Chittagong boosted his ranking high enough to climb above India captain Virat Kohli in the Test format.

They were Warner's first centuries in Asia since the 133 he scored in the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan in October 2014.

Another big winner in the rankings table was Aussie middle-order batsman Peter Handscomb, who rose 15 spots a career-best ranking of 24th.

There were gains also for Glenn Maxwell (up 16 spots to 88th) and Ashton Ager (up seven places to 77th).

But while Australia's seven-wicket victory in Chittagong helped them secure a 1-1 series result it couldn't stop Steve Smith's team slipping to fifth in the official ICC team rankings.

The Australians had entered the series ranked fourth, but the drawn series with the ninth-ranked Bangladeshis saw them drop three rankings points and slip below New Zealand.

Australia and the Black Caps both have 97 points, but the Aussies are behind when the ranking is taken to decimal points.

Australia needed a series win to remain in fourth, but after they lost the first Test in Dhaka they had been in danger of hitting a 29-year rankings low and a second defeat would have seen them fall to sixth.

That was avoided this week in Chittagong, thanks largely to the efforts of Lyon and Warner.

India remain the top-ranked Test team, ahead of South Africa and England, who are in action in a series-deciding third Test against the West Indies at Lord's.

Bangladesh's Dhaka victory saw them gain five ranking points to reach 74 but they remain ranked in ninth position, only ahead of Zimbabwe.

Top 10 Test Batsmen

1 Steve Smith (AUS)
2 Joe Root (ENG)
3 Kane Williamson (NZ)
4 Cheteshwar Pujara (IND)
5 David Warner (AUS)
6 Virat Kohli (IND)
7 Azhar Ali (PAK)
8 Alastair Cook (ENG)
9 Hashim Amla (SA)
10 Lokesh Rahul (IND)

Top 10 Test Bowlers

1 Ravi Jadeja (IND)
2 James Anderson (ENG)
3 Ravi Ashwin (IND)
4 Rangana Herath (SL)
5 Josh Hazlewood (AUS)
6 Kagiso Rabada (SA)
7 Dale Steyn (SA)
8 Nathan Lyon (AUS)
9 Vernon Philander (SA)
10 Stuart Broad (ENG)