England batting stalwart Joe Root has returned to the top of the list of batters in the latest ICC Test Rankings for the eighth time in his career. The boost comes after the dynamic right-hander slammed a century (104) in the first innings followed by a knock of 40 to help England win a thrilling encounter against India at the Lord’s earlier this week.
Root currently has 888 rating points and eclipsed teammate Harry Brook for the apex spot, who has now dropped down to third place with 862 points.
Interestingly, Root is now the oldest batter at 34-years-old to occupy the No.1 position since a 37-year-old Kumar Sangakkara held the rank back in December 2014.
In the recent pink-ball Test where West Indies registered the second-lowest innings total (27) in history, Scott Boland shone with a match haul of six-wicket including a hattrick that propelled him to a career-best ranking of sixth.
His 62 Test wickets have come at just 16.53 apiece, with only George Lohmann and Sydney Barnes, who played over 110 years ago, having taken more Test wickets at a better average.
On the other hand, veteran Aussie speedster Mitchell Starc also impressed in the game against the Windies by entering the record books to take the quickest ever fifer (in just 2.3 overs) in the longest format.
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While the recent loss against England at Lord’s did not see any improvement for the Indian cricketers, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja maintained their top spots in the respective bowler and all-rounder rankings owing to their individual brilliance.
After taking a fifer in the series opener at Leeds, Bumrah was rested for the second game before returning at Lord’s. He delivered the goods once again with another five-wicket haul while ending the match with seven scalps to extend his lead at the top of ICC Test Bowler Rankings with 901 rating points.
Ravindra Jadeja too continued dominating the top position in the ICC All-rounder Rankings after slamming four consecutive fifties in the ongoing England series alongside taking three wickets in three games.
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