Joe Root Ranks in First Place on the Latest ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings

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According to the most recent ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings, Joe Root of England has replaced Marnus Labuschagne as the top-ranked Test batter in the world. Having risen to the top in December of last year following a strong start to the Australian summer against the West Indies, Labuschagne has held the top spot for just over six months.

However, Root’s 30th Test century against Australia in the thrilling first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, combined with a slow start to 2023 by his lofty standards, has caused a significant shift at the top of the batter rankings.

The first Ashes Test in Birmingham saw Root manage scores of 118* and 46 in a losing cause, and those outstanding individual performances helped the 32-year-old rise a whopping five spots and reclaim his position as the No. 1 ranked Test batter in the world.

Due to his 0 and 13 against England, Labuschagne falls to third overall, and veteran Kiwi Kane Williamson advances two spots to second.

Just 26 rating points now separate the top six players in what is one of the closest competitions recently seen. Fellow Australians Steve Smith (down four spots to sixth) and Travis Head (down one spot to fourth) also lose ground in the race to become the No. 1 Test batter.

Usman Khawaja, the star player for Australia against England, was named Player of the Match and moved up to seventh overall after his heroics. Young gun Harry Brook also earned the highest rating of his brief Test career by moving up five spots to 13th on the most recent Test rankings.

The updated rankings for bowlers didn’t show nearly as much movement, with India’s Ravichandran Ashwin maintaining his lead over England’s James Anderson, South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, and Australia’s Pat Cummins at the top.

Ollie Robinson and Stuart Broad of England move up one spot each inside the top 10, while Moeen Ali of England, who played his first Test in nearly two years against Australia, returns to the rankings in position 52.

The latest ODI rankings underwent some minor adjustments as a result of the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier, with Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood, 35, moving up two spots to third on the updated list of all-rounders.

In addition to helping Oman defeat Ireland in their opening Qualifier game with a valuable 59 and a wicket, left-arm spinner Maqsood moved up five spots to number 40 on the list of ODI bowlers.

With four wickets from two games at the qualifier, USA pacer Saurabh Netravalkar moves up five spots to 18th overall and achieves a career-high rating on the list of bowlers. He is the first American player to be ranked in the top 20 in either bowling or batting for ODIs.

Josh Little, a seamer from Ireland, moves up seven spots to tie for 32nd, while Aayan Afzal Khan, a spinner from the UAE, moves up ten spots to 37th.

Kariyawasa Asalanka of Sri Lanka climbs three spots to land in position 40 on the most recent ODI batter rankings, while right-hander Aqib Ilyas Sulehri of Oman moves up four spots to position 51 and veteran Sean Williams of Zimbabwe moves up five spots to tie for 53rd.