Looks like another regression in option processing; updateArticleCount is no longer recognizing the --update option which is required for it to actually save its udpates to the database:
$ php maintenance/updateArticleCount.php --update
Counting articles...found 60.
To update the site statistics table, run the script with the --update option.
This is blocking site maintenance such as request for count rebuild in bug 20998.
Version: unspecified
Severity: enhancement