Australian cricketer Steve Smith has made significant progress in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings following his outstanding performance in the second England-Australia Ashes Test at Lord’s, resulting in improved rankings for both him and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
Smith’s remarkable scores of 110 and 34 have propelled him up four places to secure the second position in the rankings. However, Williamson has overtaken Joe Root to claim the number one spot, marking his sixth time at the top. His previous reign ended in August 2021.
With just one point behind Williamson’s 883 rating points, Smith, who last held the top spot in June 2021, remains a strong contender. The competition for the leading positions remains fierce, as third-placed Marnus Labuschagne (873) and Travis Head are also separated by a single point.
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In other notable updates, England’s Ben Duckett has made an impressive leap of 24 places, entering the top 20 for the first time in his career.
This achievement follows his outstanding scores of 98 and 83 in the second Ashes Test. Additionally, England captain Ben Stokes has climbed nine places to secure the 23rd spot, thanks to his remarkable innings of 155 in the second innings.
Among the bowlers, Australian cricketer Pat Cummins has ascended to the second position after his impressive four-wicket haul in the match. Mitchell Starc, the left-arm fast bowler from Australia, has also moved up two places to secure the 14th position after his commendable performance of taking six wickets.
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Turning our attention to the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings, Ireland’s Harry Tector has advanced one position to reach the joint-sixth spot after scoring 60 against Nepal in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023.
Furthermore, Scott Edwards from the Netherlands and Pathum Nissanka from Sri Lanka have shown progress in the batting rankings, securing the 35th and 38th positions, respectively.
In the bowling rankings, Nepal’s leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane has climbed five places to secure the 24th position after claiming three wickets against the United Arab Emirates.
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Sri Lanka’s off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana has made an impressive leap of 21 places to secure the 32nd position, while Scotland’s seam bowler Chris Sole has advanced 23 places to secure the 39th spot. These remarkable performances were achieved during the Qualifier tournament.
