Three Aussies reach career rankings highs

Australia's Mitchell Starc has risen to a career high of fifth on the International Cricket Council's Test bowling rankings after his match-winning performance against South Africa in Durban.

And brothers Shaun and Mitchell Marsh have also achieved career-best rankings, continuing their recent resurgence in the Test side.

Starc took nine wickets at Kingsmead to move up five spots, jumping ahead of Proteas rivals Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel, to be just one spot behind pace-bowling partner Josh Hazlewood.

Starc's previous best was a ranking of sixth in 2016.

The left-hander's feats with the bat in Durban have also seen him jump into the top five of the allrounder category, although he remains well behind Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan in top spot.

Mitchell Marsh, meanwhile, has risen to 43rd in the batting rankings, a career best, after his crucial 96 at Kingsmead while brother Shaun is up to 16th after scoring a total of 73 runs on a difficult surface.

Proteas opener Aiden Markram has vaulted 28 spots to 19th after his impressive second-innings century.

Spinner Keshav Maharaj, who took nine wickets in Durban, is up one spot to 18th amongst the bowlers.

Aussie skipper Steve Smith remains the No.1 ranked batsman while England's Jimmy Anderson tops the bowlers, with Kagiso Rabada not far behind.

ICC TEST PLAYER RANKINGS - BATSMEN

1) Steve Smith
2) Virat Kohli
3) Joe Root
4) Kane Williamson
5) David Warner
6) Cheteshwar Pujara
7) Azhar Ali
8) Alastair Cook
9) Ross Taylor
10) Hashim Amla

ICC TEST PLAYER RANKINGS - BOWLERS

1) Jimmy Anderson
2) Kagiso Rabada
3) Ravindra Jadeja
4) Josh Hazlewood
5) Mitchell Starc
6) Ravichandran Ashwin
7) Vernon Philander
8) Neil Wagner
9) Rangana Herath
=10) Morne Morkel
=10) Nathan Lyon

ICC TEST PLAYER RANKINGS - ALLROUNDERS

1) Shakib Al Hasan
2) Ravindra Jadeja
3) Ravichandran Ashwin
4) Ben Stokes
5) Mitchell Starc

Qantas tour of South Africa

South Africa squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada.

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.

Warm-up match: Australia beat South Africa A by five wickets. Report, highlights

First Test Australia won by 118 runs. Scorecard

Second Test St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, March 9-13. Live coverage

Third Test Newlands, Cape Town, March 22-26. Live coverage

Fourth Test Wanderers, Johannesburg, March 30-April 3. Live coverage