Steve Smith jumps a rung to 3rd in ICC rankings overtaking Pujara
Dubai: Australian batsman Steve Smith on Tuesday overtook India's Cheteshwar Pujara to grab the No.3 spot in the ICC rankings after consecutive hundreds in the opening Ashes Test in Edgbaston.
Smith, playing his first Test series after returning from a one-year ban for ball-tampering, gained a rung to reach the third position in the latest list for batsmen, which continues to be led by India captain Virat Kohli. Pujara is placed fourth in the fresh standings.
Smith's knocks of 144 and 142 won him the Man of the Match award and the formerly top-ranked batsman is back above the 900-point mark along with Kohli (922) and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (913). He started the Test, which Australia won by 251 runs, in fourth place and with 857 points.
Australian spinner Nathan Lyon's nine wickets in the match have lifted him six spots to the 13th position among bowlers.
Pacer Pat Cummins has consolidated his top position with a seven-wicket match haul that helped him reach a career-best 898 rating points, the third-best for an Australia bowler in the past 50 years after Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
For England, Ben Foakes and Chris Woakes are in 69th and 70th positions in the list for batsmen after gaining one and 11 points, respectively. Opener Rory Burns' knock of 133 in the first innings has helped him move up 25 places to a career-best 81st position.
Fast bowler Stuart Broad, who completed 100 Test wickets against Australia during the match, has gained two places to be 16th.
Woakes has advanced four places to take the 29th slot after grabbing four wickets in the match. Woakes has also leapfrogged compatriot Moeen Ali to reach ninth among all-rounders.
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UK imposes study visa bans on Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, Sudan
London (PTI): The UK on Wednesday imposed a study visa ban on four countries accused of using the route as a backdoor entry to seek permanent refuge in the country, as part of a wider clampdown on the soaring rates of asylum applications.
The so-called "emergency brake" on student visas applies to Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, with Afghans also subject to a skilled worker visa ban following a major surge in asylum claims from these countries.
The move comes as UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood introduces new legislation in Parliament this week, with the visa brake to be introduced via an Immigration Rules change on Thursday to come into force on March 26.
"Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused," said Mahmood.
“That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity. I will restore order and control to our borders,” she said.
According to official statistics released by the Home Office alongside the visa ban announcement, asylum applications by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan rocketed by over 470 per cent between 2021 and 2025 – making them among the most likely nationalities to claim asylum.
Meanwhile, the number of Afghans on work visas claiming asylum now outstripping the number of visas issued.
In what has been described as an “unprecedented step”, the Home Office said it will end sponsored study visas from all four countries and skilled worker visas for Afghan nationals.
“Tough action is required as asylum claims from legal routes have more than trebled since 2021 – making up 39 per cent of the 100,000 people who applied last year. In total, 133,760 people have claimed asylum after arriving legally in the past five years,” the Home Office said.
It said these refugees end up having to be accommodated at the expense of the British taxpayer, with an “above average proportion” of people from the four countries claiming destitution.
“Asylum support is currently costing more than 4 billion pounds a year – with nearly 16,000 nationals from the four countries currently supported at public expense, including over 6,000 in hotels," it added.
According to official data, between 2021 and the year ending September 2025, the proportion of Afghan asylum claims to study visas issued was 95 per cent, applications by students from Myanmar soared 16-fold over the same period and claims by students from Cameroon and Sudan spiked by more than 330 per cent.
The government pointed to its success in reducing student asylum claims by 20 per cent over the course of 2025, but stressed that further action is needed as those arriving on study visas still make up 13 per cent of all claims in the system.
The visa ban announcement comes on the back of Mahmood's announcement earlier this week that asylum status in the UK will be temporary, to be reviewed after 30 months.
