ICC has released the latest instalment of the Test player rankings after the end of the 2019 Ashes series, where England and Australia shared the spoils.
Steve Smith, who was awarded the man of the series for scoring 774 runs in seven innings and averaging way above 100, has retained his No. 1 spot in the Top batsmen’s list. Australia has one more player acquiring the No.1 spot and that is Pat Cummins who leads the Top bowler’s list.
David Warner, who started the series in the No. 5 spot, occupies the 24th position at the end of it. He managed to reach double figures only twice in the Ashes and was dismissed thrice on a duck.
Read: Ricky Ponting backs David Warner despite Ashes flop
Indian skipper Virat Kohli and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson also retained their second and third spots, respectively in the rankings. Kohli is 34 points behind Smith, who currently has 937 points.
Other notable changes in the Top batsmen rankings are Jos Buttler, who moved up 10 places to reach 27, Rory Burns, who climbed five places to reach 56 and Joe Denly, who took a leap of 24 spots to sit at 57. Australian batsman Matthew Wade also jumped climbed to 78.
🏴's Jos Buttler and Rory Burns have taken giant leaps in the @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Rankings for batting after the #Ashes.
— ICC (@ICC) September 16, 2019
Matthew Wade has also gained big after his 💯 at The Oval.
Latest rankings ▶️ https://t.co/kQBAqvkrLp pic.twitter.com/lb94Pna8KB
In the bowler’s rankings, Pat Cummins also holds a good lead of 57 points ahead of Kagiso Rabada, who has 851 points. Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah is at the fifth spot with 835 points. Josh Hazlewood dropped to 12 after being in the top ten for a while.
England bowler Jofra Archer and Jack Leach both gained five spots to reach 37 and 39, respectively. Sam Curran also took a six-rank leap to reach 65 while Mitchell Marsh jumped 20 places to acquire the 54th rank.
Read: Forget Tendulkar, Steve Smith is the greatest No. 4 Test batsman ever
Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Lindsey Parnaby
