LONDON: England’s prolific all-rounder Ben Stokes has moved to the number one spot of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test all-rounder rankings for the first time.
According to details, the sport’s governing body announced new Test rankings today (Monday). Ben Stokes has made significant strides in the ICC Test Player Rankings after the second Test against West Indies in Manchester.
After his match-winning performance, Stokes is now the first England player at the summit since Andrew Flintoff in May 2006. He also gained a career-best third position among batsmen in the ICC Men’s Test Batsmen Rankings.
Stokes ended Holder’s 18-month reign at the top. His tall of 497 rating points is the highest by any Test all-rounder since Jacques Kallis aggregated 517 in April 2008.
ICC in a statement said, “Stokes, who trailed Holder by 54 rating points going into the second Test in Manchester, enjoys a lead of 38 points after his memorable knocks of 176 and 78 and a match haul of three wickets helped England win by 113 runs and level the three-match series 1-1.”
On the other hand, Pakistan’s batsman Babar Azam dropped out of the top-five in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test batsmen rankings. The right-hander dropped one place to sixth position.