Azhar is top-ranked batsman in Dublin test

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan opener Azhar Ali is the top-ranked batsman in the Dublin Test from Friday, as per the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings.

Asad Shafiq (joint-25th) and captain Sarfraz Ahmed (32nd) are the others in the top-50 while upcoming left-hander Sami Aslam would be hoping to improve his position of 74th on the table, a press release issued here said.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah is leading Pakistan’s pack of bowlers at 16th position, while fast bowlers Mohammad Abbas (37th) and Mohammad Amir (39th) are the other prominent names in the team for Pakistan, who were top-ranked in Tests in August 2016.

As for Ireland, players like captain William Porterfield and his opening partner Ed Joyce, all-rounders Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien, and fast bowler Tim Murtagh would all be looking to make a fine start to their Test careers, having achieved decent rankings in the shorter formats

In ODIs, Stirling (35th), Joyce (42nd), Kevin O’Brien (51st) and Porterfield (58th) are the leading batsmen while Murtagh (20th), off-spinner Andy McBrine (42nd), Boyd Rankin (58th) and George Dockrell (63rd) are the leading bowlers.

Joyce, who has also represented England in international cricket, is the most experienced Ireland player in first-class cricket, having played 254 matches, scoring 18,414 runs with 47 centuries. Among bowlers, Murtagh goes in with the considerable experience of having taken 712 wickets in 210 first-class matches.