In Dubai, on December 18, (NationPress) England’s leading batter Joe Root has ascended back to the top as the highest-ranked Test batter in the ICC Rankings. Root recorded scores of 32 and 54 during the third Test match against New Zealand in Hamilton, overtaking his teammate Harry Brook, who was the number one for merely a week.

According to the most recent rankings update, Root boasts 895 rating points, which is 19 points ahead of Brook, who unfortunately scored zero and one as New Zealand triumphed over England by 423 runs.

The performance of Kane Williamson from New Zealand, with scores of 44 and 156, enabled him to narrow the gap with the top two batters. Additionally, Tom Latham climbed six spots to 31st, while Will Young jumped 13 places to achieve a career-high 36th position. Tom Blundell rose three spots to 37th, and Mitchell Santner made a significant leap of 17 places to land at 76th.

In the bowling rankings, Matt Henry from New Zealand excelled, dismissing Zak Crawley in all six innings of the series. His latest six-wicket haul elevated him two places to a career-best seventh position. His teammate Will O’Rourke is currently tied at 30th, while Gus Atkinson from England completed his inaugural year in Test cricket at 14th position. Santner, who was named Player of the Match in New Zealand’s victory in Hamilton, reached a career-high 39th ranking with seven wickets.

Meanwhile, veteran pacer Tim Southee concluded his Test career holding the 26th position among bowlers, achieving a career-best ranking of third that he first reached in June 2021. He has also been recognized as a top 10 bowler in white-ball formats, having achieved a career-high ninth position in ODIs and sixth in T20Is.

On the T20I front, Akeal Hosein, the left-arm spinner from West Indies, secured the top spot as the new number one T20I bowler following his impressive figures of 2-13 against Bangladesh in Kingstown, moving up three places.

He has replaced Adil Rashid from England, who held the number one position for a year after taking over on December 14, 2023. Furthermore, Mahedi Hasan from Bangladesh made a remarkable leap of 18 places to reach 23rd among T20I bowlers.

In batting, Reeza Hendricks from South Africa returned to the top 10 after scoring a century against Pakistan in Centurion, placing him at ninth. Additionally, Rovman Powell from West Indies advanced 10 spots to tie for 22nd, while his teammate Johnson Charles moved up six places to 19th. Babar Azam from Pakistan also improved by one position to sixth.