ICC Test Rankings: Notable gains for Australia's Labuschagne and Head
Australian cricket team batters Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head have gained significantly in the latest ICC Test Rankings. Labuschagne rose to a career-best number two position as Head, who struck a match-winning 152 in the first Ashes Test, has seen him race to 10th. Meanwhile, Pakistan left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi has kept his third position in the ICC Test Rankings for Bowlers.
Labuschagne scored a fluent 74 in the first innings of the Ashes Test in Brisbane. His efforts saw him rise to number two, displacing fellow Australian star Steve Smith. Labuschagne gained two spots and has 894 career rating points. Meanwhile, Head has gained 16 spots to be placed in the Top 10 for the first time. He has 717 rating points.
England skipper Joe Root retains the top position among batters. Root got scores of 0 and 89 in the Brisbane Test and has 903 rating points. Smith has slipped to third alongside Kane Williamson (4th). Rohit Sharma is fifth, whereas, David Warner has gained three spots to be sixth. Virat Kohli, Dimuth Karunaratne, and Babar Azam have dropped one place each as well.
In the ICC Test Rankings for Bowlers, Pat Cummins leads the tally with 913 rating points. He claimed seven wickets at The Gabba. Cummins is followed by India's ace spinner R Ashwin (883). Afridi is third ahead of Josh Hazlewood and Tim Southee. Kagiso Rabada, Neil Wagner, James Anderson, Kyle Jamieson, and Hasan Ali complete the Top 10.
In the ICC Test Rankings for All-rounders, England's Ben Stokes dropped two places. Stokes, who misfired in the first Ashes Test after making a comeback from injury and mental health issues, slipped to fifth. He has 322 rating points. Stokes' fall saw Ravindra Jadeja and Shakib Al Hasan gain one berth each.
In the ICC T20I Rankings for Bowlers, Pakistan's Shadab Khan gained five places to be placed ninth. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has been displaced by Aiden Markram among batters. Babar slipped to third and has 789 rating points.
