England’s batter Joe Root comes back on top of ICC Men's Test Batting rankings

Dubai: England’s premier batter Joe Root has made a return as the top-ranked Test batter in the ICC Rankings. Root, who made scores of 32 and 54 during the third Test against New Zealand in Hamilton, replaces his compatriot Harry Brook, who spent just one week as number one in the standings. As per the latest update to the rankings, Root is now at 895 rating points, which is 19 points above Brook, who was dismissed for just zero and one as New Zealand beat England by 423 runs.

New Zealand batter Kane Williamson’s scores of 44 and 156 helped him close the gap on the leading two while Tom Latham (up six places to 31st), Will Young (up 13 places to a career-best 36th), Tom Blundell (up three places to 37th) and Mitchell Santner (up 17 places to 76th) are other batter making jumps in the rankings.

New Zealand pacer Matt Henry’s dominance over Zak Crawley has been a highlight as he dismissed the England opener in all six innings of the series, and his latest six-wicket match haul has lifted him two places to a career-best seventh position in the bowlers rankings.

His team-mate Will O’Rourke continues the impressive start to his Test career and is currently in joint-30th place while England’s Gus Atkinson finished his first year in Test cricket at number 14. Santner, who was Player of the Match in New Zealand’s win at Hamilton, also attained a career-best 39th position with seven wickets in the Test. IANS

Also Read: 'He’s so hard to bowl at': Joe Root lauds Harry Brook’s batting prowess

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