Harry Brook tops ICC Test batting rankings as Gill and Mulder reach career highs

England’s Harry Brook replaced Joe Root as the No.1 Test batter in the ICC rankings. India’s Shubman Gill rose to No.6 after a historic twin 150+ feat, while South Africa’s Wiaan Mulder hit a record 367* and surged in all three lists.

Hyderabad: England middle-order batter Harry Brook has displaced compatriot Joe Root to take the top position in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings even as India captain Shubman Gill and South Africa all-rounder Wiaan Mulder have attained career bests in the latest weekly update.

Brook’s solid 158 in the first innings of the second Test against India in Birmingham has helped him reach 886 rating points, 18 more than his fellow Yorkshire player Root, swapping places with him again and ending the former captain’s six-month reign at the top. Brook had earlier been No. 1 for one week in December last year.

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The Edgbaston Test though belonged to Gill, who became only the second player in history to register scores of above 150 in both innings of a Test match and the second highest aggregate ever in Tests with 430 runs. His knocks of 269 and 161 have rocketed him 15 places to a career-best sixth position. Gill’s previous best was 14th position which he reached in September last year and he had started this series ranked 23rd.

Other batters to make notable gains after the second Test of the five-match ICC World Test Championship (WTC) series that is now level 1-1 are Ravindra Jadeja, who is up six places to 39th after valuable knocks of 89 and 69 not out, and Jamie Smith, who is in the top 10 for the first time after his solid innings of 184 not out and 88 lifted him 16 slots.

India’s new-ball bowlers Mohammad Siraj and Akash Deep, who had a five-for each, have made huge inroads in the bowling rankings. Siraj’s seven wickets in the match have lifted him six places to 22nd while Akash Deep has galloped 39 places to a career-best 45th position after finishing with a maiden 10-wicket match haul.

Mulder up in all three Test lists: The Bulawayo Test saw a mammoth 367 not out by Mulder, the highest score by a South Africa batter, resulting in a huge rankings reward as he has progressed 34 places to a career-best 22nd position.

His three wickets in the match have also been fruitful in rankings terms as he has moved up four places to 48th among bowlers, but more significantly to a career-best third position among all-rounders, now only behind Jadeja and Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz.