Joe Root Attains New High In ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings

Joe Root Attains New High In ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings (Image Source: AFP)

England batter Joe Root has attained a new high in terms of rating points after notching a career-best 262 in the first match of their ICC World Test Championship series against Pakistan in Multan. The top-ranked Test batter has reached 932 points, the fourth highest ever for his country. The three England batters to have reached higher points tallies are Len Hutton (945), Jack Hobbs (942) and Peter May (941).

Root was just a point shy of his previous career-best of 923 rating points when he slammed twin centuries against Sri Lanka at Lord’s last month before slipping to 899 at the end of the series. He is again on an ascent after figuring in a world record fourth-wicket Test partnership of 454 with Harry Brook that helped England declare at 823 for seven and win by an innings and 47 runs.

Brook, who scored 317 off just 322 deliveries and was named Player of the Match, has moved up to joint-second with Kane Williamson of New Zealand. Ben Ducket (up five places to 14th) and Zak Crawley (up two places to 24th) are other England batters to advance.

Pakistan’s three centurions in the match too have progressed in the rankings. Salman Ali Agha is up one place to a career-best 22nd, captain Shan Masood has advanced 12 places to 51st and Abdullah Shafique had moved up two slots to 39th position.

In the bowling rankings, Gus Atkinson’s four wickets have helped him advance three places to 23rd while spinner Jack Leach’s figures of three for 160 and four for 30 have helped him move from 37th to 28thposition.

In the ICC Men’s T20I Rankings, West Indies opener Brandon King has moved up four places to eighth in the batting rankings after smashing a match-winning 66 off 33 balls in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Dambulla while Pathum Nissanka’s knock of 54 in the second match of the series has lifted him three places to 12th.

Charitha Asalanka (up three places to 36th in batting) and Maheesh Theekshana (up five places to fifth in bowling) are the other Sri Lanka players to gain in the rankings while for the West Indies, spinner Gudakesh Motie is up two places to second position.

India batter Sanju Samson’s blitz of 111 off 47 deliveries in the third match against Bangladesh in Hyderabad that helped complete a 3-0 series win, has lifted him 91 places to 65th position in the batting rankings while Nitish Kumar Reddy is up 255 places to 72nd.

Rinku Singh (up 22 places to 43rd) and Hardik Pandya (up four places to 59th) have also made notable gains for India in batting and spinner Ravi Bishnoi is up four places to eighth in the bowling rankings.

For Bangladesh, Towhid Hridoy (up four places to 27th) and Liton Das (up two places to 40th) are among those to have gained in the batting rankings while Mustafizur Rahman (up one place to 15th) and Taskin Ahmed (up 11 places to 19th) are the major gainers in the bowling rankings.