Root reclaims number one spot in ICC Test Batting Rankings after century in Lord's Test win

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) England’s premier batter Joe Root has reclaimed the top position in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings after his 37th Test century helped the hosts’ claim a thrilling 22-run win at Lord’s.

Root, with 888 points, regains the top spot just a week after losing it to his England team-mate Harry Brook, who is now at third place with 862 rating points. Root’s scores of 104 and 40 in the third Test win and helping England take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, see him start his eighth stint at the top of the rankings.

At 34, Root is now is the oldest top-ranked Test batter since Kumar Sangakkara in December 2014, when the Sri Lankan keeper-batter was 37. With Brook slipping to third spot, New Zealand batter Kane Williamson is number two on the rankings while Australia’s Steve Smith (816 rating points) has overtaken India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal to be at fourth place.

Smith made 48 in Australia’s victory over the West Indies in Jamaica sealing their 3-0 series win, with his teammate Cameron Green jumping 16 places to be at joint 29th (619 rating points) thanks to scores of 46 and 42.

India’s veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s scores of 72 and 61 not out at Lord’s has lifted lifting him five places to 34th place while opener KL Rahul is one spot behind him in 35th position, after gaining five positions with scores of 100 and 39.

India captain Shubman Gill has slipped three places to ninth in the batting rankings after making 16 and six, while England captain Ben Stokes’ Player of the Match effort of 77 runs and five wickets in the match have lifted him two places to 42nd among batters and one spot to 45th among bowlers.

Jasprit Bumrah’s seven wickets at Lord’s have helped him maintain his 50-point lead over Kagiso Rabada. India’s off-spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar’s 4-22 at Lord’s have taken him from 58th to 46th position in the bowling rankings.

Australia seamer Scott Boland’s three wickets in each innings, including a hat-trick in the second essay, has lifted him six places to a career-best sixth position. Boland along with his Australia bowling colleagues Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc now hold a unique distinction - as five bowlers from Australia are now in the top 10 Test rankings. This kind of domination has not been seen since England had six bowlers in the top 12 in 1958.

Though West Indies made headlines for being shot out for 27, they had some good news in the bowling rankings with Shamar Joseph’s eight wickets in the match enabling him to reach a career-best 14th position, with Alzarri Joseph (up two places to 29th) and Justin Greaves (up 15 places to 65th) have also moved up.

In Men’s T20I Player Rankings, Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis (up three places to 15th) and Bangladesh’s Parvez Hossain Emon (up 12 places to 85th) have made inroads in the batting rankings while their respective team-mates Nuwan Thushara (up nine places to 16th) and Rishad Hossain (up 12 places to 17th) have progressed in the bowling rankings.

--IANS

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