Babar Azam has dropped one position in the ICC Men’s Test Player rankings following several key English players’ ascents after their victory over the West Indies.
Harry Brook has made notable progress, climbing four spots to a career-best third place in the batter rankings following England’s commanding 241-run victory at Trent Bridge. The victory was led by Ben Stokes, with veteran batsman Joe Root making a significant impact by scoring his 32nd Test century. Root’s performance has propelled him closer to the top of the Test batter rankings, currently held by New Zealand’s Kane Williamson. Root gained 12 rating points and is now just seven points behind Williamson, and a stellar performance in the upcoming third Test in Birmingham could see him reclaim the number one spot.
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Brook’s outstanding century in the second innings at Nottingham allowed him to surpass Babar Azam, Daryl Mitchell, Steve Smith, and Rohit Sharma, advancing to third place in the rankings. Additionally, other England players saw improvements: Ben Duckett rose six spots to 16th, and Ollie Pope jumped eight places to 21st due to strong performances in the second Test.
For the West Indies, Kraigg Brathwaite climbed two places to 40th, Joshua Da Silva moved up seven spots to 61st, and Kavem Hodge made a notable leap of 21 places to 75th. In the Test bowler rankings, Chris Woakes re-entered the top 20 for the first time since September 2021, thanks to his six-wicket haul against the West Indies. Young England spinner Shoaib Bashir improved by 18 places to 53rd after his five-wicket haul in the second innings, while West Indies’ Jayden Seales gained 10 places to reach 34th following his six wickets in the Nottingham Test.
