Ireland now occupy eighth in the Reliance ICC T20I Championship table, one above ninth-placed West Indies

Ireland’s Trent Johnston has broken back into the top 20 of the Twenty20 International (T20I) Rankings for bowlers after the 37-year-old fast-medium bowler helped his side to victory in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2012 and thereby played a part in the side’s qualification for the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 to be played in September.

The strapping right-armed bowler took seven T20I wickets for Ireland during the event earlier this month and consequently has been rewarded with a leap of seven places to now occupy 15th in the bowling rankings, the list is currently topped by England’s spinner Graeme Swann.

The latest set of T20I Rankings were released today (31 March) at the conclusion of not only the ICC WT20Q UAE 2012 but also the T20I between South Africa and India along with the conclusion of the T20I series between West Indies and Australia yesterday (30 March).

Johnston is not the only Irishman to rise up the bowling rankings, with fellow bowlers George Dockrell and Boyd Rankin claiming new career best rankings. The 27-year-old Rankin has risen 16 places to 28th, his highest ranking to date, while left-arm-spinner Dockrell is now in 24th place after he snaffled six T20I wickets during the event.

Other Associate and Affiliate players on the move in the bowling rankings include Netherlands’ vice-captain Pieter Seelaar who has re-entered the rankings in 29th, Scotland’s Majid Haq in 34th while Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi is the highest placed bowler from his country in 61st.

In the T20I Rankings for batsmen Ireland opener and man of the final in the ICC WT20Q UAE 2012, Paul Stirling, has rocketed 32 places to now jointly occupy 39th place with South Africa all-rounder Albie Morkel. Stirling smashed 188 runs in the five T20Is he appeared in during the event that ran from 13 to 24 March and consequently now occupies his highest ranking to date.

Ireland captain William Porterfield has also risen up the rankings to now occupy 44th place, his highest ranking to date, after he scored 117 runs in the five T20Is that he featured in.

Fellow ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers Afghanistan have also seen players rise in the batting rankings, with Mohammad Shahzad in 41st and Noor Ali re-entering the table at 61st. Netherland’s Tom Cooper has joined the rankings for the first time in 59th place after making his T20I debut for the side in the event.

In the T20I Rankings for all-rounders Stirling is once again the man on the move, the all-rounder has flown up the rankings to now sit 16th in the world, a rise of 30 places and the 21-year-old’s highest ranking to date.

The table is topped by Australia’s Shane Watson. In the ICC T20I Championship, Ireland’s win in the ICC WT20Q UAE 2012 has seen it rise to eighth in the Championship above ninth-placed West Indies, while Afghanistan has slipped to 10th in the table.

Fellow Associates Scotland, Netherlands, Kenya and Canada have all entered the Championship for the first time having now completed the required eight-match qualification.