Star England batter replaces Marnus Labuschagne as No.1 Test batter

Joe Root replaced Marnus Labuschagne for the top place in the world rankings for men’s Test batters after his success with the bat in the first Test of the Ashes 2023 at Edgbaston against Australia. Root ended Labuschagne’s place at the top, as the Australian star was forced to leave the sport after just over six months.

Root’s amazing batting streak continued as he opened the Ashes 2023 series against Australia with an undefeated 121. He followed it up with 46 in the second innings, but his efforts were in vain as Australia defeated England by two wickets on Tuesday, June 20. The 32-year-old English batter praised Bazball despite England’s defeat and was rewarded for his batting performances for England. He is now the leader with 887 points.

Marnus Labuschagne’s Ashes campaign got off to a shaky start, as the right-hander was removed for 0 and 13 against England in Birmingham. He fell from first to third place as New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson earned second place. Travis Head, who made a fifty in the first innings of the Edgbaston Test, fell to fourth in the ranking order.

While Steve Smith fell four places after his dual failure in the first Ashes Test. Smith scored 16 and 6, falling short of the pre-series expectations, especially after scoring a century against India in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final earlier in June. The point gap between No. 1 Root and No. 6 Smith is only 26 as the fight for the top place is closely contested.

Australia opener Usman Khawaja was named Player of the Match for his heroics against England, propelling the 36-year-old to a new career-high rating and seventh place overall, while young gun Harry Brook jumped five places to 13th on the latest Test rankings. Rishabh Pant, who has not played competitive cricket since December 2022, remained in tenth place, while Virat Kohli fell to fourteenth.

Meanwhile, R Ashwin, who did not play in the WTC final, maintained his number one position in the ICC Test Rankings for bowlers. Ollie Robinson and Stuart Broad both climbed one position into the top ten, while teammate Moeen Ali re-entered the rankings in 52nd place after returning from retirement to compete in Birmingham.