Joe Root back in top five of ICC Test Batting rankings

England may have lost the Test series against the Windies, but captain Joe Root’s century in their consolation win the final Test lifted him back into the top five batsmen in the world.

While the 2-1 series result saw England slip from third to fifth on the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, some of their players can take solace in making individual gains.

Root, for instance, rose three places after his match-defining 122 in England’s second innings, slotting in at No.5 on the MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings for batsmen, edging ahead of New Zealand’s Henry Nicholls, who has the same rating points.

All-rounder Stokes made a small gain to be No.4

Jos Buttler, who backed up Root with a pair of half-centuries in the third Test, and Ben Stokes, who top-scored in the first innings, rose by eight places to No.26 and seven spots to No.34 respectively. Joe Denly, who made his maiden Test half-century, gained by 49 to finish his first series at No.110.

While Windies captain Jason Holder, who was suspended for the Test, remains the highest-ranked Windies batsman at No.36, Roston Chase, who made a fighting century, climbed 10 places to be No.41, while taking the 13th place among all-rounders.

Stokes, who also took two wickets in the St Lucia Test, made a small gain to be No.4 on the MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings for all-rounders, a chart that is still led by Holder.

Among the bowlers, Mark Wood, who bowled a fiery spell for a maiden five-wicket haul in the Windies’ first innings, was the big gainer, vaulting 12 places to No.52. Kemar Roach (No.11) and Alzarri Joseph (No.51) for Windies, and Moeen Ali (No.27) for England made slight gains.

Virat Kohli continues to lead the charts for batsmen while Kagiso Rabada is the top-ranked bowler.

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