English cricketers have improved their positions in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings following their strong victory against West Indies in the second Test match. Harry Brook climbed to his highest-ever ranking at number 3 after scoring a century at Trent Bridge. Joe Root is also getting closer to the top-ranked player, Kane Williamson, in the rankings. Root gained 12 points, narrowing the gap to just seven points behind Williamson. The standout player is close to retaking the top spot if he delivers another impressive batting performance in the third and final Test match against West Indies in Birmingham.
Harry Brook has climbed above Babar Azam, Daryl Mitchell, Steve Smith, and Rohit Sharma in the rankings to reach his highest-ever position in just 14 Test matches. In the current series, Brook is the third top scorer with 195 runs from three innings, averaging 65. During the second innings against West Indies, Root scored his 32nd Test century, which is a record for him, and also moved up to become the 8th highest run-scorer in the history of Test cricket.
After scoring a century in his first innings, Ollie Pope climbed eight spots to reach the 21st ranking. England’s opening batsman, Ben Duckett, also advanced six places to secure the 16th position in the rankings. Even though they lost, West Indies players saw improvements in the batting rankings. Their captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, moved up two places to claim the 40th position. Joshua Da Silva and Kavem Hodge, who both scored centuries in the match, reached the 61st and 75th spots in the rankings.
The English fast bowler also saw a big improvement in the bowler rankings after taking six wickets in the match. The fast bowler moved up four spots and returned to the top 20 for the first time since September 2021.
The young English spin bowler, Shoaib Bashir, climbed 18 places to 53rd after taking five wickets in the second innings. Meanwhile, West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales rose 10 places to 34th after taking six wickets in the Nottingham match.
