Australian pacer Scott Boland has climbed to his career-best ranking after taking a hat-trick in the Jamaica Test.
Meanwhile, England’s Harry Brook lost his top spot in the Test batsmen rankings within a week. Joe Root, his compatriot, regained the throne with a thrilling century against India at Lord’s.
The ICC updated the men’s player rankings on Wednesday as usual. Root leads the Test batsmen with 888 rating points, moving up one spot. Brook dropped two places to third with 862 points, while New Zealand’s Kane Williamson rose to second with 867 points.
England defeated India by 22 runs in the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Root scored 104 in the first innings and 40 in the second, playing a key role in the victory.
Brook, who ended Root’s nearly seven-month reign last week, couldn’t perform well at Lord’s, scoring only 11 and 23 in his two innings, losing his place at the top.
This marks the eighth time that 34-year-old Root has reached number one in the Test batting rankings. He is the oldest batsman to do so since Kumar Sangakkara in December 2014, who was 37 at the time.
Australian star Steven Smith has moved up one spot to fourth with scores of 48 and 5 in the Jamaica Test, now holding 816 points. Cameron Green made a huge jump of 16 places to 29th after scoring 46 and 42.
India’s Ravindra Jadeja and Lokesh Rahul climbed five spots to 34th and 35th respectively. Captain Shubman Gill dropped three places to ninth, while Rishabh Pant slipped one spot to eighth.
Scott Boland, after his match-winning six wickets in the day-night Test against the West Indies, rose six places to sixth in the Test bowling rankings — his career best.
Mitchell Starc took six wickets for nine runs, dismantling the West Indies in just 27 runs while chasing. However, Starc’s ranking remains unchanged at tenth.
Australia has five bowlers in the top ten of the Test rankings: Pat Cummins (third), Josh Hazlewood (fourth), Boland (sixth), Nathan Lyon (eighth), and Starc (tenth). India’s Jasprit Bumrah holds the top spot, with South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada second.
West Indies bowlers Shamarh Joseph (up 15 places to 14th), Justin Greaves (up 15 to 65th), and Alzarri Joseph (up 2 to 29th) improved their rankings after shining at Sabina Park. India’s Washington Sundar moved up 12 spots to 46th.
Among Test all-rounders, India’s Ravindra Jadeja continues to lead.
