England’s comprehensive victory over the West Indies in the second Test at Trent Bridge has seen a significant reshuffling in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings. Several English players enjoyed a jump in their rankings after stellar performances, while some West Indian batsmen also managed to climb the charts.
Root Chases Williamson, Brook Makes Big Leap
Veteran batsman Joe Root continued his prolific run with a well-compiled century, moving him closer to reclaiming the No.1 Test batter ranking currently held by New Zealand’s Kane Williamson. Root’s 12-point improvement puts him just seven points behind Williamson, and a strong showing in the third Test at Birmingham could see him return to the top spot.
The biggest mover in the batter rankings, however, is England’s rising star Harry Brook. The 25-year-old’s brilliant century in the second innings propelled him a staggering four places to a career-best ranking of third. This impressive feat saw him surpass established names like Babar Azam, Daryl Mitchell, Steve Smith, and Rohit Sharma.
The dominance of England’s batting wasn’t limited to just Root and Brook. Teammates Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope also made significant strides in the rankings. Duckett climbed six spots to reach 16th, while Pope jumped eight places to land at 21st. These improvements showcase the depth and consistency England possess in their batting order.
While the Windies succumbed to a heavy defeat, there were some positive takeaways for their batting unit as well. Kraigg Brathwaite, Joshua Da Silva, and Kavem Hodge all registered improvements in the rankings. Brathwaite climbed two spots to 40th, Da Silva moved up seven places to 61st, and Hodge took a significant leap of 21 positions to reach 75th.
Bowling Rankings Witness Shifts
Chris Woakes was the standout performer in the bowling rankings for England. The experienced pacer’s impressive haul of six wickets saw him jump four places, placing him back inside the top 20 for the first time since September 2021. Young England spinner Shoaib Bashir also made a noteworthy climb, rising 18 spots to 53rd after his five-wicket haul in the second innings.
For the West Indies, fast bowler Jayden Seales impressed with six wickets, earning him a ten-place jump to 34th in the rankings.
The white-ball rankings saw minimal changes this week. However, a couple of Namibian players managed to climb the ODI rankings on the back of their performances in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2. Left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz took a career-high three wickets against Scotland, propelling him four places to sixth on the ODI bowler rankings. His captain, Gerhard Erasmus, also enjoyed a one-spot improvement, reaching fifth in the ODI all-rounder rankings after a well-rounded performance with both bat and ball.
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