Nottinghamshire bowler Stuart Broad has become the first Englishman to reach the top of the international bowling rankings for 12 years.
Broad was propelled to the pinnacle of the International Cricket Council ratings with bowling figures of 6-17 against South Africa during the third test in Johannesburg at the weekend.
The hosts were dismissed for 83 in their second innings, meaning England have won the series with a game to spare.
It’s a team game and the man of the match is a team trophy
Broad was named man of the match and dedicated the accolade to the team, saying: “As a team, we always talk about someone winning the Man of the Match trophy because generally you win the game.
“But it is a team game and a team trophy; bowlers can’t do their job without the batsmen and Root’s hundred was one of the best I’ve seen him score.”
This performance meant Broad, 29, becomes the first English bowler to occupy the world’s top spot since Steve Harmison in 2004.
Prior to that was Ian Botham back in 1980.
ICC Top 10 Bowlers as of January 18 2016
1. Stuart Broad, England, 880 rating
2. Ravichandran Ashwin, India, 871
3. Dale Steyn, South Africa, 850
4. Yasir Shah, Pakistan, 846
5. James Anderson, England, 810
6. Ravindra Jadeja, India, 789
7. Trent Boult, New Zealand, 787
8. Josh Hazlewood, Australia, 741
9. Tim Southee, New Zealand, 731
10. Vernon Philander, South Africa, 724
In August 2015, Broad took career-best figures of 8-15 in the fourth Test of the Ashes series at Trent Bridge, which led to Australia being skittled for 60.
Those figures were recorded in 9.3 overs and are the best bowling figures ever in an Ashes innings.
Broad, who lives in Nottingham, has played county cricket for Notts since 2007.
VIDEO: Broad speaking in December before the South Africa tour
Speaking about his ashes performance after being awarded an honorary degree from the University of Nottingham last year, Broad said: “I think a lot about sport is being in your comfort zone.
“Feeling comfortable in your environment is important; there are a lot of mental techniques and training involved before games start to make sure that when you deliver or face your first ball, you feel calm and relaxed.”
Picture: Batsmen and fellow Notts players Alex Hales, left and James Taylor, right, have experienced mixed fortunes during the series
Fellow Notts player James Taylor also had a successful third test match of the series alongside Broad, taking two spectacular and vital catches at short leg during the same innings, although scoring 7 and 2 not out.
Speaking about Taylor’s performance, Stuart Broad said: “Titchy Taylor took some great catches at short leg and he’s been practising them really hard.
“We knew short leg was going to be an important position because of the extra bounce and he spent a lot of time in practice working on his game.
“When he caught them, he was screaming and shouting; it was like Alan Shearer scoring a goal!”
Alex Hales, another Nottinghamshire batsman, endured a more difficult test, scoring 1 and 18, but took a catch to dismiss Faf du Plessis in the first innings for 16.
