Joe Root Reclaims ICC No.1 Test Batter Spot From Harry Brook After Lord's Heroics, Gill-Jaiswal Drop

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London, July 16: England's batting maestro Joe Root has returned to the pinnacle of the ICC Men's Test Batting Rankings, reclaiming the No.1 spot from fellow Yorkshireman Harry Brook after a match-winning performance at Lord's in the third Test of the ongoing five-match World Test Championship (WTC) series against India.

Root, who struck a magnificent 104 in the first innings, followed by a steady 40 in the second, helped England clinch a thrilling 22-run win to take a 2-1 series lead. The 34-year-old has now started his eighth reign as the world's top-ranked Test batter, becoming the oldest to do so since Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara in 2014.

Ranking Shake-Up Among Top Batters

The latest weekly update, which also includes performances from the West Indies vs Australia Test in Kingston, has reshuffled the Test batting order.

Root's return to the top sees Brook drop to second, while New Zealand's Kane Williamson climbs to third. Steve Smith, fresh off Australia's dominant 3-0 series sweep over the Windies, has overtaken India's Yashasvi Jaiswal to take the fourth spot. Jaiswal, despite a modest outing at Lord's, slips to fifth.

Other notable movers include:

• Cameron Green (Australia) jumps 16 places to joint-29th after valuable knocks of 46 and 42 in a low-scoring match.
• Ravindra Jadeja's gritty 61* and 72 in the Lord's Test lifts him five spots to 34th.
• KL Rahul, with scores of 100 and 39, follows closely in 35th after a five-place climb.
• Shubman Gill, India's captain, drops three places to ninth, while Ben Stokes, England's inspirational leader, rises to 42nd among batters and 45th among bowlers after an all-round Player of the Match display (77 runs and 5 wickets).

Australian Bowling Juggernaut: Five in Top 10

While Jasprit Bumrah maintains his lead at the top of the Test bowling rankings after his 7-wicket haul at Lord's, the week belongs to Scott Boland. The Australian pacer, who registered a hat-trick and took three wickets in each innings in Kingston, has risen six places to a career-best sixth position, joining an elite group of Australian bowlers in the top 10.

Australia's bowling dominance in Test cricket is now undisputed, with five of their pacemen and spinners - Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, and Scott Boland - featuring in the top 10 of the Test Bowling Rankings.

This marks a historic achievement, as it's the first time since 1958, when England had six bowlers in the top 12, that any nation has asserted such collective authority in the rankings. Among them, Scott Boland stands out with a remarkable Test bowling average of 16.53 for 62 wickets, a figure bettered only by George Lohmann and Sydney Barnes, both legendary names in the ICC Hall of Fame.

Windies and India See Bright Spots

Despite their second innings collapse for 27 - the second lowest in Test history - West Indies bowlers made ranking strides:

Shamar Joseph, with eight wickets in the match, moved up to a career-best 14th. Alzarri Joseph and Justin Greaves also gained ground.

Meanwhile, Washington Sundar, India's all-rounder, climbed 12 places to 46th among bowlers, thanks to a four-wicket haul in the second innings at Lord's.

T20I Rankings: Rising Stars From South Asia

In the latest ICC Men's T20I rankings, several rising stars from South Asia have made significant strides, reflecting the region's growing depth in the shortest format. Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis climbed three places to 15th in the batting charts, while Bangladesh's Parvez Hossain Emon surged 12 spots to 85th after consistent performances.

On the bowling front, Nuwan Thushara made a notable jump of nine places to 16th, and Rishad Hossain advanced 12 positions to 17th, further highlighting the emergence of promising talent capable of making a global impact in T20 cricket.