Has Joe Root Reclaimed the Top Spot in ICC Test Batting Rankings After His Stunning Century at Lord's?

New Delhi, July 16 (NationPress) England’s leading batter Joe Root has once again seized the top position in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings following his remarkable 37th Test century, which was pivotal in securing a thrilling 22-run victory at Lord’s. Root now stands at 888 points, regaining his top ranking just a week after losing it to his teammate Harry Brook, who has since dropped to third place with 862 points. Root's contributions of 104 and 40 in the third Test not only helped England take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series but also mark his eighth tenure at the pinnacle of the rankings.

At the age of 34, Root is the oldest player to hold the top Test batting rank since Kumar Sangakkara in December 2014, when the Sri Lankan legend was 37. With Brook slipping to third, Kane Williamson from New Zealand occupies the second position, while Steve Smith from Australia, with 816 points, has surpassed Yashasvi Jaiswal of India to claim fourth place.

Smith's performance included a score of 48 in Australia’s match against the West Indies in Jamaica, which sealed a 3-0 series victory. His teammate Cameron Green made a significant jump of 16 places, now ranking joint 29th with 619 points, thanks to scores of 46 and 42.

In the Indian camp, veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja improved his standing to 34th after scoring 72 and 61 not out at Lord’s. KL Rahul follows closely in 35th place, gaining five positions after making scores of 100 and 39.

Meanwhile, Indian captain Shubman Gill fell three places to ninth after scoring 16 and 6. The England captain, Ben Stokes, was awarded Player of the Match for his 77 runs and five wickets, moving him up two spots to 42nd among batters and one spot to 45th among bowlers.

In bowling, Jasprit Bumrah maintained a 50-point lead over Kagiso Rabada thanks to his impressive seven wickets at Lord’s. Indian off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar climbed from 58th to 46th in the bowling rankings with 4-22 at Lord’s.

Australian seamer Scott Boland achieved a career-best sixth position after taking three wickets in each innings, including a hat-trick in the second innings. Alongside his Australian teammates Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, and Mitchell Starc, they are part of a unique distinction as five Australian bowlers now sit in the top 10 Test rankings, a feat not seen since England had six bowlers in the top 12 in 1958.

While the West Indies made headlines for their dismal score of 27, they celebrated Shamar Joseph’s achievement of eight wickets, which earned him a career-high ranking of 14th. Additionally, Alzarri Joseph rose to 29th, and Justin Greaves jumped 15 places to 65th.

In the Men’s T20I Player Rankings, Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis moved up three spots to 15th, while Bangladesh's Parvez Hossain Emon climbed 12 places to 85th. Their teammates Nuwan Thushara and Rishad Hossain also made notable advancements in the bowling rankings.