Babar Azam slips in ICC Test rankings

England’s outstanding performance in the second Test against the West Indies has led to significant gains for several of their key players in the latest ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings.

Ben Stokes’ team secured a decisive 241-run victory at Trent Bridge. Among the standout players, veteran batter Joe Root scored his 32nd Test century. This achievement has moved him closer to the top Test batter ranking, currently held by New Zealand’s Kane Williamson. Root gained 12 rating points and is now just seven points behind Williamson. Another strong performance in the upcoming third Test in Birmingham could see Root reclaim the number one spot.

Harry Brook also made notable progress, climbing four spots to reach a career-best third place in the batter rankings. His impressive century in the second innings at Nottingham allowed him to surpass Babar Azam, Daryl Mitchell, Steve Smith, and Rohit Sharma.

Other England players also improved their rankings. Ben Duckett moved up six spots to 16th, and Ollie Pope jumped eight places to 21st after solid performances in the second Test. For the West Indies, Kraigg Brathwaite advanced two places to 40th, Joshua Da Silva climbed seven spots to 61st, and Kavem Hodge made a significant leap of 21 places to 75th.

In the Test bowler rankings, Chris Woakes made a notable move by jumping four places to re-enter the top 20 for the first time since September 2021, thanks to his six-wicket haul against the West Indies. Young England spinner Shoaib Bashir improved by 18 places to 53rd following his five-wicket haul in the second innings, while West Indies quick Jayden Seales gained 10 places to reach 34th after taking six wickets in the Nottingham Test.

In the ODI rankings, there were notable movements by Namibia players in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 in Dundee. Left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz moved up four places to sixth among ODI bowlers, achieving a career-high rating after his three-wicket haul against Scotland. Captain Gerhard Erasmus gained one spot to move to fifth among ODI all-rounders after scoring 63 runs and taking two wickets in the same match.