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New Zealand’s Kane Williamson who played his last Test in March 2023 has regained the top spot on ICC’s men’s Test rankings. Williamson reached the summit as former England skipper Joe Root slipped four positions after registering scores of 10 and 18 in the Lord's Test.
However, Williamson may not stay at the top for long. In-form Australian batter Steve Smith jumped four places to reach no.2 after scoring a century in the first innings of Lord’s Test. There is just one-point difference between Williamson and Smith. The former Australian skipper will have a chance to reach the top when he plays at Leeds, Headingley.
With Root falling to fifth position, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam slipped one place to sixth spot. Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head remained on third and fourth position. They also have a difference of one point and an in-form Head may surpass Labuschagne after the third Test.
The only Indian in top 10 list of batters is Rishabh Pant who has not played a single Test this year after surviving a major car accident on December 30, 2022.
Jonny Bairstow slipped three positions to 19 after his controversial dismissal. On the other hand, England captain Ben Stokes rose nine spots to 23 after a scintillating 155-run knock in unsuccessful run chase of Lord's Test.
Ashwin on top
In the bowling department, Ravichandran Ashwin continued his reign at top with 860 points despite sitting out World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final. Australia skipper Pat Cummins jumped two positions whereas James Anderson slipped two to fourth after the visitors took a 2-0 lead.
An injured Nathan Lyon who could not bowl due to injury and has been ruled of out Ashes 2023 slipped one position to seventh. It meant that Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi occupied the sixth spot. The other Indian bowlers in top 10 are an injured Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja at eighth and ninth positions respectively.
Gains for Stokes and Root
In the all-rounders rankings, Ashwin remained static on the top followed by Ashwin. Axar Patel slipped one position as Stokes claimed the fourth spot. Also, Root who bowled off-spin in absence of an injured Moeen Ali moved up one place to seventh.
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