After scoring 87 in the opening innings of the third and final game of the ICC World Test Championship series against the West Indies in Birmingham, which his team won by 10 wickets to complete a 3-0 series victory, England batsman Joe Root has taken back the top spot in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings.
Joe Root has held the top spot nine times now. He held the top spot in the rankings for the first time in August 2015, and he last held it in June of last year following a strong showing in the Ashes series opener in Birmingham.
While Joe Root passed Kane Williamson to claim the top slot, Harry Brook dropped to seventh place after finishing in a career-best third place the week before. Babar Azam, Daryl Mitchell, Rohit Sharma, and Steve Smith have all gained spots.
Ben Stokes, the captain of England, moved up four spots to 30th in the batting rankings in the weekly update that also considers his performance in the Ireland vs Zimbabwe Test in Belfast. Stokes hit 54 in the first innings in Birmingham and a rapid 57 not out off 28 balls in the second.
Sean Williams of Zimbabwe has re-entered the rankings in 33rd place following scores of 35 and 40. Jamie Smith, the wicketkeeper for England, has moved up 31 spots to 64th place with his 95, while West Indies batsman Kavem Hodge has moved up three spots to 72nd.
Mark Wood, an England fast bowler, is now ranked in the top 20 of the bowling rankings for the first time in his career after his Player of the Match performances of two for 52 and five for 40.
Other notable climbers in the bowling rankings are Jayden Seales of the West Indies (up seven spots to a career-best 26th position), Gus Atkinson of England (up four spots to 46th), Blessing Muzarabani of Zimbabwe (who re-entered in the 50th position), and Mark Adair of Ireland (up three spots to 63rd).
Opening batsman for India, Yashwasi Jaiswal, has returned to the top four in the Men’s T20I Rankings after amassing 80 runs in the three-match series that his team won 3-0 against Sri Lanka.
Shubman Gill has climbed 16 spots to a career-high 21st place; other batters to climb in the rankings include Pathum Nissanka of Sri Lanka (up 11 spots to 15th) and Kusal Perera of Sri Lanka (up 40 spots to joint-63rd).
The number one-ranked leg-spinner in India, Ravi Bishnoi, has returned to the top 10, while other notable risers include Arshdeep Singh (up four spots to 19th) and Washington Sundar (up six spots to 40th).
Also Read: Head coach Brendon McCullum is’satisfied’ with England’s improvement following a clean sweep against the West Indies
The ODI Rankings show that Scotland’s Richard Berrington has risen seven spots to 59th among batsmen following his exploits in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2, while Oman’s Aqib Ilyas has moved up five spots to 58th among batters and Kaleemullah has moved up eleven places to 50th among bowlers.
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