Mitchell Starc rises to No.1 in ICC Test bowling rankings after 10-wicket haul in Mackay
Mitchell Starc replaced Jasprit Bumrah as the world No.1 in the ICC Men's Test Bowling Rankings in the update published on August 26, 2026, after a 10-wicket match haul in the second Test in Mackay against Bangladesh. Bumrah, who first reached the top in February 2024, was absent from India's ongoing World Test Championship series against Sri Lanka.
Bumrah's long hold on the summit since February 2024 had left him in near-continuous control of the top spot for the past two years. Starc's surge came during a blistering spell against Bangladesh that moved him up two places in the latest rankings, leapfrogging both Jasprit Bumrah and New Zealand seamer Matt Henry. Now 36 and 15 years into his international career, Starc had been a regular inside the top ten and had recently broken into the top three after his performances in the Ashes against England. The promotion marks the first time Starc has reached No.1.
The decisive performance occurred in Mackay during the second Test, where Starc ripped through Bangladesh to record a 10-wicket match haul; that effort underpinned his two-place jump in the new rankings. The update explicitly cites that match as the catalyst for his ascent to the summit of the bowling list.
Australia recorded further gains in the bowling table: captain Pat Cummins moved up to fourth following a six-wicket haul in Mackay, while off-spinner Nathan Lyon rose two places to re-enter the top 10 at 10th. Those shifts accompanied Starc's move and reflect multiple strong individual displays in the same Test series.
England's pace attack also advanced after the Headingley win over Pakistan, where Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue shared 16 wickets; Robinson climbed 15 places to 11th and Tongue surged 16 places to 17th in the latest update. The rankings change followed the pair's heavy wicket-taking contribution to an emphatic English victory at Headingley.
Batting positions at the top remained steady, with England's Harry Brook retaining the No.1 Test batting ranking and Joe Root at No.2; Steve Smith and Travis Head held third and fourth respectively. The batting leaderboard showed little movement among the leading quartet in this cycle of the rankings.
India's Rishabh Pant supplied the biggest shake-up inside the top ten with a jump of six places to joint-seventh after a counter-attacking fifty in the second innings against Sri Lanka at Galle, leaving him level with Marnus Labuschagne. Pant's upward move was the most notable change among specialist batters in this update.
The net outcome of the latest ICC Test Rankings update published on August 26, 2026, places Mitchell Starc at No.1 in the bowling standings, followed by Jasprit Bumrah at No.2, Matt Henry at No.3 and Pat Cummins at No.4.
