Kane Williamson has risen to the top spot in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings

Dubai [UAE]July 5 (ANI): New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson has topped the ICC Men’s Player Rankings among batsmen, the ICC said on Wednesday.

“Australian batsman Steve Smith moved quickly to the top after the second England-Australia Test at Lord’s, but Kane Williamson has replaced Joe Root at the top spot in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings,” the ICC said in a statement.

Smith’s Man of the Match effort of 110 and 34 moved him up four places to second position. Smith was last at the top in June 2021 when he replaced Williamson for a couple of weeks before being overtaken again by the New Zealand batsman.

Root, who scored just 10 and 18, dropped to fifth, allowing Williamson to reclaim the top spot. This is the sixth time at the top for Williamson, who first took the top spot in November 2015 and was last at the top in August 2021.

The battle for top spot on the list is sure to remain interesting in the coming days as Smith is just one point behind Williamson’s 883 after the last weekly update, while third-placed Marnus Labuschagne (873) and Travis Head are also separated by just one point .

England batsman Ben Duckett climbed 24 places to enter the top 20 for the first time in his career with scores of 98 and 83 in the second Ashes Test, while his captain Ben Stokes climbed nine places to 23rd after a valiant 155 points in the second. submissions.

Australian captain Pat Cummins moved up to second among bowlers after taking four wickets in the match, while left-arm spinner Mitchell Starc moved up two places to 14th with six scalps. Opener David Warner is ranked 26th among batsmen after scores of 66 and 25 took him up four places.

In the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings, Irish batsman Harry Tector moved up one place to sixth after scoring 60 against Nepal in the seventh place play-off for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in Harare. The Netherlands’ Scott Edwards (up five places to 35) and Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka (up eight places to 38) are the other players who have risen in the batting rankings.

In the bowling rankings, Nepal pacer Sandeep Lamichan, who took three wickets against the United Arab Emirates, climbed five places to 24th. Sri Lanka’s Mahish Tekshana (up 21 places to 32nd) and Scotland bowler Chris Soule (up 23 places to 39th) also made notable progress after impressive performances in the qualifiers. (ANI)