Joe Root becomse No. 1 Test batter in ICC ranking
Marnus Labuschagne lost the No. 1 spot in the ICC men’s Test rankings after a recent string of performances that helped England batter Joe Root take over. Root, who recently scored 115* at Lord’s and 176 in Nottingham, has been in terrific form during the ongoing home series against New Zealand, gaining 897 points to rank No. 1. Labuschagne, who had held the No. 1 spot since December 2021, dropped to second place as a result.
Australia’s Steven Smith is still in the third position, trailed by Pakistan captain Babar Azam and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. In addition, Labuschagne will have the opportunity to regain the top position when Australia faces Sri Lanka in a two-match series later this month. Root, who will play a one-off Test against India and a three-match series against South Africa at home following the New Zealand series, has immediate tasks.
The Root troop, including Jonny Bairstow and captain Ben Stokes, has also benefited. Jonny Bairstow’s 136-ball 136 that chased down a five-wicket win, has risen 13 positions to 39th position and Stokes’s 75 not out has elevated him from 27th to 22nd. Ollie Pope (up 22 positions to 53rd) and Alex Lees (up 26 positions to 86th) have gained in batting rankings, while Matthew Potts’ three wickets have pushed him up 18 places to 59th.
ICC Test batters Ranking and Ratings
- Joe Root – 897
- Marnus Labuschagne – 892
- Steve Smith – 845
- Babar Azam – 815
- Kane Williamson – 798
- Dimuth Karunaratne – 772
- Usman Khawaja – 757
- Rohit Sharma – 754
- Travis Head – 744
- Virat Kohli – 742
Root has had an incredible run in Tests, thanks to his amazing form. He recently scored his 27th century, becoming only the second England player after Alastair Cook to achieve that feat, and he recently scored over 10,000 runs in the format. He has now scored centuries in both of England’s matches against New Zealand in the ongoing series. He accomplished that feat in just 115 balls, which was faster than any of his previous innings. He eventually finished with 175 runs after scoring 211 runs.
Root has amassed 897 points, five more than Labuschagne’s Australia, in the second position. Kishan has been India’s dominant batsman in their five-match T20I series against South Africa. He has amassed 164 runs in three innings, including half-centuries in two of them at a batting average of 157.69.
Trent Bridge saw New Zealand’s Trent Boult, who took a five-wicket haul during the first innings, leap four places up the rankings to ninth, whilst Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee, who dropped to sixth and 13th, respectively, Trent Bridge, fell. That allowed India’s Jasprit Bumrah, Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi, and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada to all rise to one position.