- Root reclaims the first spot in ICC Test batting rankings.
- He has scored four tons this calendar year.
- Smith is in the third spot.
As of the most recent ICC Men’s Test Batsmen rankings, England right-hander Joe Root has surpassed Marnus Labuschagne as the highest-ranked Test batter in the world.
Roooooooooot!@root66 has gone top of the ICC Men's Test batting rankings 👏 pic.twitter.com/L150ibQYtz
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 15, 2022
Labuschagne ascended to the top in December of 2017 following scores of 103 and 51 against England in Adelaide, but Root’s recent form has displaced the Australian at the top of the rankings.
Read more: Joe Root reaches 10,000 Test runs
Root has already scored four centuries this calendar year and become just the second Englishman to score more than 10,000 Test runs and that has seen the 31-year-old jump in front of Labuschagne as the No.1 ranked batter in the world.
The Englishman now has a total of 897 rating points, five more than the runner-up Labuschagne.
Labuschagne may have the opportunity to reclaim the spotlight when Australia play Sri Lanka in a two-match World Test Championship series away from home later this month, but Root also has a busy Test cricket schedule ahead.
Read more: Ollie Pope is being trained by Joe Root on the job
Root is in the midst of a three-match Test series against New Zealand, with England also hosting India for a single Test and South Africa for three Tests in the coming months.
Australia’s Steve Smith is in third place in the most recent Test rankings, followed by Pakistan’s Babar Azam and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
