ICC Test Rankings | Steve Smith moves up to second spot to close in on Virat Kohli
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Steve Smith has managed to make his way past New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson and is now the second-ranked batsmen in Tests, just nine points behind leader Virat Kohli. Many other Englishmen and Australians made big strides forward in the rankings owing to their performances in the ongoing Ashes.
Virat Kohli has been able to defend his throne as the world’s number one batsman in red-ball cricket yet again but he is now not far ahead of Australian talisman Steven Smith. Even though he has made his comeback to international cricket after serving a year’s suspension, Smith has been in fine form for the Kangaroos in the ongoing Ashes.Â
He scored twin centuries in the first match followed by a gritty 92 in the first innings of the next match, taking his average for the series to an astounding 126. He now has 913 points to his name, less than 10 points behind the Indian skipper who has 922 points. Kane Williamson now sits in the third spot with a total of 887 points.
His compatriots Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne have also made an impressive surge forward. While Head now sits at number 18, Labuschagne has made a massive leap of 16 places to be ranked at 82. However, a disappointing series so far for the country’s top three batsmen in the order, namely David Warner, Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja has seen them all take a plunge in the rankings.
Their opponents have also had a few standout performers, with Ben Stokes’ century meaning he has now progressed to number 26 in the rankings. Consistent displays by Jonny Bairstow in the middle order and a maiden Test century for Rory Burns sees them placed at number 30 and 64 respectively.
As far as the bowlers are concerned, Ashes’ leading wicket-taker so far, Pat Cummins, has managed to accumulate a career high number of points and now sits at the throne with a total of 914. Jofra Archer’s impressive debut sees him entering the rankings at number 83, while Jack Leach’s tendency to consistently pick wickets has seen him make another jump of six spots to number 40.
