Kane Williamson of New Zealand became the no.1 ranked Test batter in the world as ICC released an update to the ICC Test batting rankings on July 5, 2023. However, Australia’s ace Steve Smith is just one point behind the Kiwi on second place.
Smith’s ‘Player Of The Match’ effort of 110 and 34 in Australia’s win in the second Ashes 2023 Test at Lord’s has lifted him four places to second position. Smith was last at the top in June 2021, when he had replaced Williamson for a couple of weeks before being overtaken again by the New Zealand batter.
On the other hand, Joe Root has slipped to fifth position after managing 10 and 18 in Lord’s. This is the sixth stint at the top for Williamson, who first attained the number one position in November 2015 and was last at the top in August 2021.
The top four places in the ICC Test rankings for batters are separated by just one point each as Steve Smith is just one point behind Williamson’s 883 rating points after the latest weekly update, while third-placed Marnus Labuschagne (873) and Travis Head are also separated by just one point.
England batter Ben Duckett has shot up 24 places to reach the top 20 for the first time in his career after scores of 98 and 83 in the second Ashes Test while his captain Ben Stokes is up nine places to 23rd after a valiant 155 in the second innings.
In the bowling rankings, Pat Cummins moved to second place in the ladder after grabbing four wickets in the match while left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc is up two places to 14th with six scalps.
Harry Tector Of Ireland Moves To Sixth Spot In ICC ODI Rankings For Batters
Apart from Test cricket, the ICC also updated the ODI rankings for the players considering the ongoing ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
After hitting 60 runs against Nepal in the seventh-place play-off game of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 in Harare, Ireland’s Harry Tector has moved up one spot to joint-sixth place. The two players to move up in the batting rankings are Pathum Nissanka of Sri Lanka (up eight spots to 38th) and Scott Edwards of the Netherlands (up five spots to 35th).
Sandeep Lamichhane of Nepal, a leg-spinner, moved up five spots to 24th in the bowling rankings after taking three wickets against the United Arab Emirates. Significant advancements have also been made by Scotland seam bowler Chris Sole (up 23 places to 39th) and Sri Lankan off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana (up 21 spots to 32nd).