Joe Root jumps to second spot, Steve Smith to third in latest ICC Men's Test Player Rankings

The Ashes 2023 stood out on all expectations. Full of ups and downs, the marquee series was quite the emotional ride for both English and Australian fans. After Pat Cummins-led Australia got off to a brilliant start to the series, England did not back down as they made their comeback, winning the third and fifth Test of the series.

However, with the series ending in a 2-2 draw, there was also a major stir in the ICC Men’s Player Rankings. With the Ashes coming to an end, the player rankings saw many English stars move up in batter rankings with Joe Root coming close to the number one spot in the Test rankings.

With England’s strong performances towards the end of the series, star batter Joe Root rose one spot in the rankings and sits in second place, just behind New Zealand batter Kane Williamson. Youngster Harry Brook put in sensational performances in the series as well. His class showings saw him rise two places, and now he sits in ninth place.

Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow jumped up two places to 17th, with opener Zak Crawley sitting in 29th place. On the other hand, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja were the only two Australian batters to move up in the rankings.

Smith now sits in third place, with Khawaja placed seventh in the rankings. The bowlers also saw quite a shift in the Test rankings after the Ashes concluded. Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin maintained his number one spot, but it was retiring pacer Stuart Broad who made the biggest jump. 

Jumping up four places, Broad now sits in fourth place in the ICC Test Bowler Rankings. Mark Wood achieved his career-best ranking, moving up two spots to 21st. Chris Woakes reached the 23rd spot in the rankings as well. As for the Aussies, Mitchell Starc moved up two spots and is now in 12th place. Whereas, youngster Todd Murphy finds himself at a career-high 57th spot.

On the other side of the world, Pakistan’s brilliant start to the latest World Test Championship (WTC) cycle saw Abdullah Shafique move up to 27 places in the rankings up to 21st, Mohammad Rizwan moving up four spots to 29th and Agha Salman as they made significant shifts in the Test batter rankings.  

Furthermore, the ODI rankings saw minor changes being made as well. Team India’s dominant ODI series win against the West Indies saw 25-year-old wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan move up to 15 places in the ODI batter rankings to find himself in 45th spot. Star Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s masterclass across the three-match series saw him move up to 14th place in the rankings as well.