Joe Root among the greats after reaching career-high rankings rating
More accolades for the former England captain after his superb double-century against Pakistan in Multan.
England star Joe Root has further strengthened his standing as one of the best players of all-time by reaching a new career-high rating on the latest ICC Men's Test Batter Rankings.
Root made his highest Test score when contributing 262 during England's empathic victory over Pakistan in the first Test in Multan and went further clear at the top of the rankings for Test batters as a result as his rating increased to a total of 932 points.
It betters Root's previous highest mark of 923 rating points and only 16 players have reached a mark higher than the England right-hander in the history of Test cricket.
Best-Ever Men's Test Batter Rankings
| PLAYER | CAREER-HIGH RATING |
|---|---|
| Don Bradman (Australia) | 961 |
| Steve Smith (Australia) | 947 |
| Len Hutton (England) | 945 |
| Ricky Ponting (Australia) | 942 |
| Jack Hobbs (England) | 942 |
| Peter May (England) | 941 |
| Garry Sobers (West Indies) | 938 |
| Viv Richards (West Indies) | 938 |
| Clyde Walcott (West Indies) | 938 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) | 938 |
| Marnus Labuschagne (Australia) | 937 |
| Virat Kohli (India) | 937 |
| Jacques Kallis (South Africa) | 935 |
| AB de Villiers (South Africa) | 935 |
| Matthew Hayden (Australia) | 935 |
| Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan) | 933 |
| Joe Root (England) | 932 |
Root's lead at the top of the rankings is now more than 100 rating points, with teammate Harry Brook rising 11 places to share second placed with New Zealand veteran Kane Williamson following his magnificent triple-century against Pakistan.
Brook and Root put on a record-breaking 454 runs for the fourth wicket during that one-sided contest with Pakistan and the pair were duly rewarded on the latest rankings update as a result.
Career-best efforts from Joe Root and Harry Brook in a record stand put England in command in Multan 👏#WTC25 | #ENGvPAK 📝: https://t.co/E7pVMrxfk2 pic.twitter.com/ZgZKGPk8yD
— ICC (@ICC) October 10, 2024
Teammate Ben Duckett, who scored 84 during England's only innings in Multan, rises five places to move to 14th on the list for Test batters, while Pakistan will be buoyed by the fact Salman Agha (up 11 places to 22nd) and skipper Shan Masood (up 12 spots to equal 51st) also made some ground.
England duo Gus Atkinson (up three places to 23rd) and Jack Leach (up nine spots to 28th) move up the latest Test rankings for bowlers after being among the wickets against Pakistan, while Root gains one rung to move to third on the updated rankings for Test all-rounders.
💥 Harry Brook - 317
— ICC (@ICC) October 10, 2024
🙌 Joe Root - 262
💪 England – 823/7 dec
Records tumbled in Multan on Thursday 📝⬇️#WTC25 | #PAKvENGhttps://t.co/clvyiGGqN4
There is also some movement on the latest T20I rankings following the completion of the India's home series against Bangladesh and the opening two matches of West Indies' series against Sri Lanka.
West Indies dasher Brandon King (up four spots to eighth) and Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka (up three rungs to 12th) are the big movers on the updated rankings for T20I batters, while there is a major re-shuffle inside the top 10 for T20I bowlers.
West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie gains two places to move to second on this list behind England counterpart Adil Rashid, while Sri Lanka tweaker Maheesh Theekshana rises five spots to go to fifth following his spell of 2/7 in the second match of that series.
India leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi gains four places to move up to equal eights on the same list for T20I bowlers, while Bangladesh seamer Taskin Ahmed improves 11 spots to jump to 19th.