Holder is number two

LONDON – West Indies captain Jason Holder has started the new year as the number two-ranked all-rounder in Tests and in the top 10 of the bowlers’ rankings.

In the latest rankings announced Monday by the International Cricket Council, Holder has risen two places in the bowlers’ rankings to 10, placing him among the elite bowlers in the longest format.

As a result of his progress, he also jumped two places in the all-rounders’ rankings, and is only now behind Bangladesh captain Shakib-al-Hasan.

His rise comes despite missing the recent tour of Bangladesh through injury.

Holder had an outstanding year with the ball, claiming 33 wickets from six Tests at an amazing average of 11.87 – the best by any bowler in a calendar year for the last hundred years.

The 27-year-old seamer picked up 12 wickets during Sri Lanka’s three-Test tour of the Caribbean and followed up with 16 scalps in a two-Test home series against Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Seasoned all-rounder Deandra Dottin is the only West Indies player to make it into the ICC Teams-of-the-Year.

The 27-year-old was named in the One-Day International squad but missed out on a spot in the Twenty20 International XI.

Team selection was based on performances during the calendar year 2018 and Dottin managed to post only modest numbers, with 114 runs in five ODIs with one half-century, while bagging 11 wickets with her sharp medium pace.

She also failed to really spark in the T20 format where she underwhelmed during the historic ICC stand-alone tournament last November in the Caribbean, gathering 121 in five innings.

Dottin snatched a career-best five-wicket haul during the championship to end with 10 wickets.

There was no place in the ODI squad for 20-year-old West Indies opener Hayley Matthews despite her maiden hundred against South Africa last September. She finished 2018 with 164 runs at an average of 32.

And her captain Stafanie Taylor was also snubbed despite averaging 50 in ODIs this year and taking seven wickets with her off-spin