England batter Harry Brook climbed to second place in the ICC Test batting rankings after his performance in the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, while Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc moved closer to the top spot among bowlers, the ICC said on Tuesday.
Brook moved up three places after scoring 59 runs in a low-scoring match, overtaking Australia’s Steve Smith and Travis Head as well as New Zealand’s Kane Williamson. The 26-year-old now trails only England captain Joe Root, who remains top with 867 rating points.
England fast bowler Joshua Tongue also made significant gains following his display at the MCG, where he claimed career-best figures of 5 for 45 and 2 for 44. Tongue rose 13 places to 30th in the latest rankings. His teammates Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse also climbed the charts, moving up to 13th and 23rd respectively.
Australia’s batting struggles in the match resulted in rating drops for several of their batters, but the bowlers made progress. Starc moved past captain Pat Cummins, who missed the Test, to reach joint second place alongside Pakistan spinner Noman Ali.
The 35-year-old Starc is now just 36 rating points behind India pacer Jasprit Bumrah at the top of the bowling rankings. Fellow Australian Scott Boland reached a career-high seventh position after taking five wickets in the match and crossed the 800-point mark for the first time.
Despite losing the fourth Test, Australia retained their top position in the World Test Championship standings with a points percentage of 85.71. New Zealand and South Africa sit second and third respectively.
Both Brook and Starc will have an opportunity to challenge for the top ranking spots when the fifth and final Ashes Test begins on January 4.
(IANS)
