DUBAI, July 05 : Pakistan captain Babar Azam has moved down one spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings on Wednesday.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has overtook England’s Joe Root as the number one batsman in the world.
In a statement issued, the ICC said, “Australia batter Steve Smith has made rapid progress towards the top after the second England-Australia Test at Lord’s, but Kane Williamson has replaced Joe Root as number one in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings.”
“Smith’s ‘player of the match’ effort of 110 and 34 has lifted him four places to second position. Smith was last at the top in June 2021, when he had replaced Williamson for a couple of weeks before being overtaken again by the New Zealand batter.
“Root, who could only manage scores 10 and 18, slipped to fifth position, allowing Williamson to regain the top spot. This is the sixth stint at the top for Williamson, who first attained number one position in November 2015 and was last at the top in August 2021.
“The race for the top positions in the list is bound to remain interesting in the coming days as Smith is just one point behind Williamson’s 883 rating points after the latest weekly update, while third-placed Marnus Labuschagne (873) and Travis Head are also separated by just one point.
“England batter Ben Duckett has shot up 24 places to reach the top 20 for the first time in his career after scores of 98 and 83 in the second Ashes Test while his captain Ben Stokes is up nine places to 23rd after a valiant 155 in the second innings,” concludes the ICC statement.
Australian captain Pat Cummins has jumped to second position in the bowlers rankings after claiming four wickets in the match while left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc is up two places to 14th with six scalps.
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