Joe Root inches closer to number-one spot in latest ICC Test Rankings

Englands Joe Root moved up seven points closer to topranked New Zealands Kane Williamson in the latest ICC Test rankingsFollowing Englands solid win in the second Test match against West Indies the Three Lions stars have seen making big gains in the latest ICC Mens Test rankingsEngland won the match by 241 runs against West Indies in the Trent Bridge contests and stalwart Joe Root showcased his batting prowess by smashing his 32nd Test century to move within striking distance of Kane Williamson and the number one ranking for Test battersJoe Root improved 12 rating points to close within seven rating points of the New Zealand veteran Williamson and could reclaim top billing with another strong showing with the bat during the third and final Test against the West Indies in Birmingham starting from Friday onwardsTeammate Harry Brook is the big mover up the batter rankings with the 25yearold improving four spots to a careerbest place of third He surpassed Babar Azam Daryl Mitchell Steve Smith and Rohit Sharma in the process following his century in the second innings in NottinghamAlso ReadWith ball in hand obsession in his heart pacer Shami gears up for comebackEnglands rising star Ben Duckett secured 16th spot and Olli Pope moved to the 21st spot West Indies batsman Kraigg Brathwaite moved to the 40th spot Joshua Da Silva to the 61st and Kavem Hodge to the 75th spotThe most eyecatching move on the Test bowler rankings came from Chris Woakes with the England pacer jumping four places and back inside the top 20 for the first time since September 2021 following his match haul of six wickets against the West IndiesFollowing the fivewicket haul young spinner Shoaib Bashir moved to 53rd rank West Indies Jayden Seales also secured 34th with his six wickets during the Nottingham clashThe Englishmen are leading the threematch series by 20 against West Indies Ben Stokes and Co have a chance to whitewash the series if they manage to secure victory in the third matchThere was little change to the rankings in both whiteball formats although a pair of Namibian players made some ground on the ODI rankings on the back of some good performances in the ongoing ICC Mens Cricket World Cup League 2 in DundeeLeftarm spinner Bernard Scholtz gains four places to move to sixth on the list for ODI bowlers with a new careerhigh rating following his threewicket haul against Scotland while teammate and captain Gerhard Erasmus gains one spot to move to fifth on the list for ODI allrounders after scoring 63 and claiming two wickets in the same matchWith ANI Inputs