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Eddie Chikamhi

Senior Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWE all-rounder, Sean Williams, has made a huge leap on the ICC One Day International player rankings after scoring an unbeaten ton in the Super Over eliminator win over Pakistan on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old jumped into 46th place, in the top 100 ODI rankings, with 561 points.

He was on number 62, in the previous rankings, released last month.

Williams’ highest ODI ranking was 39th in November 2015.

The left-handed middle order batsman scored his fourth ODI century in the thrilling third ODI win in Rawalpindi.

Williams came on when Zimbabwe had experienced a typical top order malfunction and were 22/3 after seven overs.

It meant the middle order, once again, had to shoulder the pressure of getting the runs.

His magnificent unbeaten knock of 118 comprised 13 fours and a six.

He enjoyed the company of in-form former captain, Brendan Taylor, who also weighed in with a critical half century as Zimbabwe found their way to a competitive score of 278/6 in their 50 overs.

Williams told Cricinfo he also needed some luck on the day, thanks to the fielding blunders by the hosts.

“Pakistan definitely had their chances, I think I got dropped four times, so I thought I’d capitalise on the opportunities and try and build a big, big innings,” he said.

“If they had taken their first catch, I was on 12, so I think it could definitely have been better on the Pakistan side of things.”

Taylor, who also bagged a century in the first game and contributed 56 runs in the third ODI win, remains Zimbabwe’s highest ranked ODI batsmen.

He rose three places up the ladder to 42nd place with 571 rating points.

Lower middle order batsman, Sikandar Raza, is on 53rd place while Craig Ervine is the fourth Zimbabwean player in the ICC ODI top 100 batting rankings at number 76.

To his credit, Taylor has had a good outing in the series in which he finished as the second top run scorer with 204 runs under his belt.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was at the top of the charts with 221 while Williams finished third with 197.

Azam moved into number two, behind India’s Virat Kohli, who tops the ODI batting charts with 871 rating points.

Pakistan fast bowler, Shaheen Afridi, broke into the top 20, for the first time in his career following the Zimbabwe series.

Shaheen, who took five for 49 in the series opener, jumped eight places to 16th to become only the second Pakistan bowler, after Mohammad Amir (eighth), to feature inside the top-20.

Zimbabwean bowlers are still ranked lowly.

Tendai Chatara, who was not used in the ODI series in Pakistan, remains the highest-ranked Zimbabwean.

He dropped five places into 48th place.

Injured Kyle Jarvis dropped to 62nd, from number 58, and Williams also fell to 72 from number 64.

Off-spinner Raza rose to 66 from 70 while Donald Tiripano, who had two wickets in the last match, moved from number 97 to 90.

The hero in Zimbabwe’s win, Blessing Muzarabani, immediately broke into the top 100, on his return to international cricket after moving into number 87.

Muzarabani was the toast of the Zimbabwean bowlers after taking a five-wicket haul before restricting Pakistan in the thrilling Super Over tie-breaker.

The 24-year-old had put his international career on hold to pursue a Kolpak contract in England but returned home last month.

The win was celebrated far and wide, considering Zimbabwe had gone 11 consecutive ODI matches, without winning.

Besides guaranteeing 10 points in the World Cup Super League, it was also the Chevrons’ first ODI win in Pakistan in 22 years.

Zimbabwe had last won in Pakistan in November 1998 when they beat the hosts in the second ODI in Sheikhupura.

However, Zimbabwe went on to lose the series 1-2.

Williams said the win should help Zimbabwe turn around their fortunes ahead of the upcoming T20I series this weekend.

“I think we can absolutely beat the bigger teams. We’re tired of competing and getting beaten,” Williams said.

“That’s no longer acceptable.

It’s been way too long and the whole mental approach towards our game has completely changed.

“Some of the young players in the changing room, like Wesley Madhevere, are remarkably good players.

“This experience allows those younger guys to play and beat the bigger teams. Blessing has got a long career ahead of him, so there’s a lot more to come from us.”