MOEEN Ali has rocketed up the ICC Test rankings after his man-of-the-series performances against South Africa.

The England and Worcestershire all-rounder climbed to 18th spot in the bowling charts and 21st in the batting lists.

Both are the highest positions achieved by the 30-year-old.

Moeen has 625 points for bowling after his haul of 25 wickets against the Proteas.

He ended the series with figures of 121-26-391-25-15.64 and his tally included returns of 4-59, 6-53, 4-78, 4-45 and 5-69.

Moeen has now taken 123 Test wickets at 36.82, an average which is gradually coming down as his performances improve.

On the batting front Moeen has 655 points after making some more important contributions against South Africa.

They included 87 at Lord’s and 75 not out at Old Trafford.

He has now totalled 2,179 Test runs at an average of 35.14 despite batting down the order for the majority of his international career.

Moeen and Indian captain Virat Kohli were the only two players to score four Test centuries during 2016.

The Worcestershire ace insists he can handle the pressure that comes with his enhanced reputation as a match-winning all-rounder.

He said: “I feel that if it is spinning it is my job in the team to take wickets.

“If that means trying to bowl a team out in the fourth innings that’s my job.

“I see it more like that, not really a pressure thing.

“I feel a lot more confident in my ability.

“It’s been a great series with the ball in terms of my confidence, just taking the wickets and making a difference.

“I feel like it was building. Before I just bowled and didn’t really think too much. I let the captain set the field. I would say I set the field a lot more throughout this series.”

But Moeen added: “I still believe I am a batsman.

“I feel like it is the strong point of my game and when the opportunity comes to bat up the order I hope I can do that.

“No matter how many wickets I get I’m definitely always going to be a batter.”

Meanwhile, Joe Clarke’s fine performances in the NatWest T20 Blast led to him climbing into the top 20 of the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s Most Valuable Player rankings for the short format of the game.

The Worcestershire Rapids batsman is 20th with 90 points at an average of 10.02 per game before tonight’s match at Durham Jets (6.30pm).

The highest-placed Rapids player is Mitchell Santner in 13th position with 101 points at an average of 11.17 per match.

All-rounder John Hastings is 41st with 71 at 7.88 although he is now returning home to Australia after suffering a foot injury.