Harry Brook is taking giant strides in Test cricket. The 25-year-old England batter has been piling on big runs for fun and has had a fabulous start to his Test career. Now, he has scaled the No. 1 rankings among the Test batters.
The Yorkshire lad has gone past his countrymate Joe Root to become the new top-ranked batter in the ICC Test rankings. Brook’s last three Test scores read 171, 123 and 55 (latest) in the ongoing series against New Zealand. It was only a couple of months ago that he racked up a magnificent triple ton against Pakistan in Multan.
Brook currently has eight Test hundreds, seven of which have come away from home. He averages 61.62 after 23 Tests and has amassed 2280 runs. His strike-rate of 88.57 is the best by any Test player who has 1000 or more runs. He has a small lead over Root at the top.
Root himself has been in sublime form over the last four years. No batter has more Test runs than Root in 2024. The former England captain has scored 1470 runs at an average of 56.53 with six tons and four fifties. Out of 36 Test hundreds, 19 of them have come since the start of 2021. Such has been Root’s dominance in Test cricket.
Head, Bavuma sore up the rankings
Travis Head and Temba Bavuma gained a few places on the back of good recent performances. The Australian left-hander smashed a stunning 140 off 141 balls in Adelaide. That came on the back of 89 he made in the second innings in Perth. Thus, he has moved from the 11th spot to 5th on the batters rankings.
Meanwhile, Bavuma has jumped up to 7th. The South Africa Test captain racked up 327 runs in four innings in the Test series against Sri Lanka. He was awarded the Player of the Series as well. Marnus Labuschagne also moved up a touch to the 13th place after getting 64 in the first innings in Adelaide.
Among the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah continues to top the charts. Kagiso Rabada and Josh Hazlewood follow the ace India fast bowler closely. Bumrah has been phenomenal in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, taking 12 wickets in two Tests at an average of 11.25. He has 53 wickets in 11 Tests this year and averages 15.28. Meanwhile, Rabada has 32 scalps in seven Tests this year with an average of 17.96. Hazlewood did well in the first Test against India in Perth where he took four wickets. He missed the second Test in Adelaide.
Australia Test captain Pat Cummins moved to the 5th spot after taking a fifer in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide. Matt Henry gained a place from 10th to 9th in the bowlers’ rankings.
