Joe Root reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings after his scores of 104 and 40 in the third Test against India at Lord’s helped England to a thrilling 22-run win.
Root, who has 888 rating points, displaced teammate Harry Brook to take the top spot in the rankings. This is Root’s eighth stint at the top spot of the rankings for Test batters, and at the age of 34, he is the second-oldest to occupy the position, after Kumar Sangakkara, who was the top-ranked batter in Tests at the age of 37 in December 2014.
Australian Steve Smith moved up one spot to fourth in the rankings after his gritty knock of 48 in the third Test against West Indies in Jamaica. Meanwhile, Cameron Green climbed 16 spots to 29th in the rankings following scores of 46 and 42 in the low-scoring contest against the Windies.
Among Indians in the top 10, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant fell one spot each to sit fifth and eighth, respectively, in the list for Test batters. India skipper Shubman Gill dropped three spots to sit ninth after a disappointing outing at Lord’s against England.
In the Test rankings for bowlers, Australia pacer Scott Boland gained a whopping six places to climb to the sixth spot after picking a hat-trick during the pink-ball Test against West Indies in Jamaica. Mitchell Starc remained in the 10th spot despite his seven-wicket haul in Jamaica, which included a record-breaking fifer.
Boland’s rise means Australia now has five players in the top 10 list of the world’s best Test bowlers currently, with skipper Pat Cummins (third), Josh Hazlewood (fifth) and Nathan Lyon (eighth).
More to follow…
