England's star cricketer Joe Root claimed the top spot in the updated ICC men's Test batting rankings on Wednesday, July 31. Root replaced New Zealand's star batter Kane Williamson at the top of the standings after stellar performances in the recent Test series against West Indies.
The 33-year-old right-handed batter was the top run-getter in the recent red-ball series at home. Root scored 291 runs in just four innings with the help of one century and two fifties as England thrashed the Caribbean side 3-0 to take the series.
Meanwhile, England's Harry Brook witnessed a big drop in the standings despite scoring a century and fifty in four innings against West Indies. Brook slipped four places to seventh position in the updated standings. Brook's shocking drop helped Babar Azam, Daryl Mitchell, Steve Smith and Rohit Sharma gain a place each in the rankings.
ICC Men's Test batting rankings
- Joe Root (England) - 872 ratings
- Kane Williamson (New Zealand) - 859 ratings
- Babar Azam (Pakistan) - 768 ratings
- Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) - 768 ratings
- Steve Smith (Australia) - 757 ratings
- Rohit Sharma (India) - 749 ratings
Meanwhile, there were no changes to the top ten of ICC men's Tets bowling rankings on Wednesday. Mark Wood, who picked seven wickets in the third Test in Birmingham, gained six places to jump to the 20th position in the rankings. India's veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dominates the top spot with his compatriot Ravindra Jadeja and Australia's Josh Hazlewood jointly sitting in the second position.
In the men's Test all-rounder rankings, English skipper Ben Stokes gained a place after an impressive show against West Indies. Stokes scored 192 runs and took five wickets to jump to sixth position in the rankings. The veteran pace all-rounder Chris Woakes jumped three places up to the ninth spot in the updated rankings after wrapping the West Indies series with 134 runs and 11 wickets.
