Teams and players are ranked in cricket by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Each team and player (men or women; batters, bowlers, all-rounders) are given ratings based on which they are ranked in all three formats – Test cricket, One Day Internationals, and T20 Internationals.
The rating system for bowlers is such that they are evaluated on a point system from 0 to 1000. The entire rating system is completely automated with zero human intervention. A set of factors are considered by this algorithm which decides the eventual rating of the bowler. In no particular order, these factors are discussed below.
The number of wickets a bowler has taken is the primary factor. However, the factor that is as important as this is the number of runs the bowler conceded in the match. The economy of bowler is considered and is compared to the run-rate of the batting side. An additional factor considered in test cricket is the number of overs bowled. This is because bowlers have to bowl for prolonged spells, and the workload they bear is rated irrespective of the number of wickets they took.
Should a player rake up 500 points or more, there is a high probability of them making it to the Top 100. To be a Top 10 player, they need to aim for a rating of approximately 759 points. In cricket ratings, it is considered a herculean feat if a player manages to breach the 900 point barrier. Ranking points are updated weekly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the women and men respectively.
In 1932, England’s Sydney Barnes achieved a peak rating of 932 points in test cricket, the most in the history of the sport as of 2025. In One Day Internationals, the historically highest rating (940 points) achieved by any bowler was in 1985 by West Indies’ Joel Garner. As of 2025, Umar Gul’s tally of 857 points in 2009 is the highest for any bowler in T20 Internationals.
