Cricket News

‘Bro is at number 1 when he is at hospital’ – Fans react as Kane Williamson ascends to world number 1 Test batsman throne, defying time off

Steve Smith, David Warner, Ben Duckett, and Ben Stokes find significant jumps.

Jul 5, 2023 4:44 pm

The latest ICC rankings are out, and Kane Williamson returns as the no.1 Test batter despite not playing a Test in the last 3 and a half months. Since June, a lot of Test matches have happened, majorly the ongoing Prestigious Ashes between England and Australia. A lot of players who are at the top of the Test rankings are playing the series in England. There have been a lot of ups and down in Test rankings in the last few weeks. The ones that aren’t playing Test are also affected.

The star batter from New Zealand has regained the no.1 spot in Tests with a rating of 883 points. Joe Root, the star batter from England, who was at the top of the table before the Test, has fallen to fifth in the rankings due to a poor performance in the second Test at the home of Cricket. Steve Smith, the centurion from the Lord’s Test, jumped up by 4 spots and reached the second spot in the table. With 882 points, Smith is only one point behind Kane Williamson.

Huge gains and falls

The Pakistani captain Babar Azam has fallen by a spot due to the improvement from Steve Smith. From the fifth spot, Azam has reached the sixth spot in the new rankings. The two Australian middle-order batters, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head retain their respective spots with a rating of 873 and 872 points respectively. Ben Duckett has found a massive improvement in the rankings as he jumps up by 24 spots to reach the 18th spot in ICC men’s Test batters rankings.

Ben Stokes and David Warner have also gained good jumps in the rankings. The two experienced campaigners have found a jump of 9 spots and 4 spots respectively to reach spots 23 and 26 respectively. Ollie Pope, Alex Carey, and Cameron Green have fallen by 7, 5, and 8 spots respectively due to their poor performances in Lord’s. Kane Williamson last played a Test on 17th March and scored 215(296) against Sri Lanka at Basin Reserve.