After his heroics against New Zealand in Wellington last week, where he hit his 8th century, England batsman Harry Brooke has displaced compatriot Joe Root from the top of the ICC Test rankings for batsmen.
Brooke, 25, has a total of 898 rating points, one more than Root, and is tied with Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar for the 34th highest rating of all time for a Test batsman. Brooke scored 123 and 55 runs in England’s huge 323-run win over New Zealand, while Root played an innings of 3 and 106 runs in the same Test.
Root had been the top Test batsman since July this year after displacing former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.
Joe Root’s rule is over 😮
Crowned new World No. 1 in ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings 🏅 https://t.co/4r1ozlrWSA
– ICC (@ICC) December 11, 2024
“If you ask me, Brookie is the best player in the world at the moment. He has such an all-round game, he can take pressure, he can apply, he can hit you over the head for six, he can scoop you over the head for a six, he can Can smack the spin, he can mask the seam. He’s very difficult to bowl to,” Root said of Brooke after England’s win in Wellington.
Brooke and Root are at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, while Williamson is No. 3 and India’s Yasswa Jaiswal is No. 4. Travis Head, who scored a brilliant century against India in the pink ball Test in Adelaide, is in the top 5.
In the ranking of bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah is at his number 1 position with 890 rating points. The Indian has stiff competition from South African pacer Kagiso Rabada (856) and Australian fast bowler Jos Hazlewood (851).
Ravindra Jadeja has also retained his top spot in the all-rounder’s Test rankings with 415 rating points, behind Bangladesh captain Mehidi Hasan Mirage (285), who moved up to second after his team’s series against the West Indies.
(including agency inputs)