Harry Brook Climbs to Career-Best Test Rankings, Contends with Joe Root for the Lead
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Dubai, Dec 4 (NationPress) England’s Harry Brook delivered an outstanding performance with a score of 171 in the first innings during England’s eight-wicket triumph against New Zealand at Christchurch, catapulting him to the second position in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings for batters, significantly closing the gap with his teammate Joe Root.
This marks Brook’s seventh Test century, granting him a career-high rating of 854 and reducing the point difference with Root to just 41. The former England captain faced an unusual setback in this match, as he recorded his first Test duck in over two years.
The rankings experienced more shifts, with India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal dropping to fourth. Meanwhile, England’s Ollie Pope (up eight spots to 32nd) and captain Ben Stokes (up seven places to 34th) also made significant gains following their contributions in the victory over the Black Caps.
Further changes occurred in the rankings after South Africa’s dominant 233-run victory against Sri Lanka in Durban. Proteas captain Temba Bavuma scored 70 and 113, elevating him by 14 places and marking his entry into the top 10 for the first time in his career. Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis also achieved a career-best ranking, moving up two spots to seventh due to his impressive batting.
Other noteworthy advancements included Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal (up two spots to 17th) and Tristan Stubbs (up 29 places to 42nd), both of whom showcased their skills in the Durban Test.
The standout performer of the Durban Test was undoubtedly South Africa’s Marco Jansen, whose phenomenal bowling performance of 7/13 in the first innings contributed to a total of 11 wickets. Jansen's all-round excellence propelled him 19 spots to ninth in the bowler rankings and secured him the second place among Test all-rounders, trailing only India’s Ravindra Jadeja. His Player-of-the-Match accolade emphasized his emerging reputation as a match-winner.
Sri Lanka’s Vishwa Fernando also shone, rising four spots to 29th in the bowling rankings. Additionally, England’s Brydon Carse (up 21 spots to 43rd) and Shoaib Bashir (up four places to 48th) improved their standings following their efforts against New Zealand.
Pakistan’s Saim Ayub continued his ascent, climbing 12 places to 78th in ODI batting rankings and 39 spots to 119th in T20Is after some explosive performances in Zimbabwe.
Teammate Abbas Afridi moved up 20 places to 61st among T20I bowlers, while Zimbabwe’s veteran all-rounder Sikandar Raza ascended six places to 40th in the ODI bowling rankings following a series of impressive displays.
