Joe Root’s reign as the number one Test batter ended on Wednesday after teammate Harry Brooks replaced him at the top of the ICC Test batting rankings.
India pacer Jasprit Bumrah and spinner Ravindra Jadeja held on to their top positions in the bowlers’ and all-rounders’ charts, respectively in the longest format.
Brook, 25, overtook Root after his eighth Test century against New Zealand in Wellington last week. The right-hander now enjoys a slender one-point advantage over his more experienced teammate at the top of the latest ICC rankings.
Brook has 898 rating points, one more than Root, and joins Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar with the equal 34th-highest rating of all time for Test batters.
Root held the top spot since July this year when he displaced former New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson from the No.1 position.
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Brook scored 123 and 55 in England’s 323-run win against New Zealand, while Root had innings of three and 106 in the same Test.
“If you asked me, Brooky is by far and away the best player in the world at the minute,” Root said following England’s victory in Wellington.
“He has such an all-round game – he can absorb pressure, he can apply it, he can whack you over your head for six, he can scoop you over his head for six, he can smack spin, he can smack seam. He’s so hard to bowl to.”
Bumrah maintained his No.1 position at the top of the Test bowlers’ rankings with 890 rating points despite some tough competition from South Africa quick Kagiso Rabada (856) and Australian pace bowler Josh Hazlewood (851).
Jadeja also maintained the top spot on the Test rankings for all-rounders with 415 rating points, followed distantly by Bangladesh skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz (285), who gained two places to move to second following his side’s series against the West Indies.