The ICC Player Rankings update confirms England’s domination in the second Test against the West Indies. Harry Brook, who starred with a century, leaps up the rankings to his highest career ranking of third. Brook’s 36 and 109 in Nottingham also earned him four precious places to 25th, with the Left-handed opener Duckett earning six spots up to 16th. He contributed 71 and 76.
Player of the Match Pope continued to soar, from 29th to 21st after scoring 121 and 51. It was not the only strong English batting show. All-rounder Chris Woakes, for his part, entered the top 20 bowlers’ ranking for the first time since September 2021. His bowling figures of 4 for 84 and 2 for 28 powered him right back into contention.
Spinner Shoaib Bashir benefited most with an 18-place leap to 53rd following a third five-wicket haul in only his fifth Test match. While England celebrated individual successes, the West Indies camp also witnessed some positive movement. Captain Kraigg Brathwaite edged up two slots to 40th after scores of 48 and 47.
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Other Windies players moving up included wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva, who rose seven places to 61st, Jason Holder, up two to 70th, and Kavem Hodge, up 21 to 75th. Their pace attack was also a hive of talents with Alzarri Joseph moving up two places to 33rd after taking five wickets and Jayden Seales taking six wickets to move from 44th to 34th.
Harry Brook zooms to 3rd place in the ICC Test rankings 🚀
Joe Root is also closing in on the top spot 👑 pic.twitter.com/Z7zknm2LOl
— Sport360° (@Sport360) July 24, 2024
Outside the Test arena, the ODI rankings saw Namibia’s left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz reach a career-best ranking of sixth. He was rewarded for his fine spell of 3 for 23 against Scotland in an ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 match. Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus and Scotland’s George Munsey were others to make significant gains due to good performances in the League 2, moving up four and seven places to 27th and 41st respectively in the batting rankings.
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Updated ICC World Test Championship standings have England in sixth place after their recent win, while West Indies are only in ninth and have much to do if results elsewhere go against them to qualify for the final. These rankings show the ever-changing landscape of international cricket, where individual brilliance and strong performances can turn things on their head at any given moment.
