ICC Men's Test Player Rankings: Joe Root loses the No. 1

In a brief span of 14 days, Joe Root's position as the leader of the ICC Test batting rankings has come to an end, as an unexpected name has taken his place. After a brilliant unbeaten innings of 118 at Edgbaston, the England star's form dipped in the second Test against Australia, scoring just 10 and 18 runs. This contributed to England's defeat in the match. Meanwhile, Steve Smith, Root's rival in the Ashes, achieved yet another century at Lord's, scoring 110 runs and contributing to Pat Cummins' team's commanding 2-0 series lead heading into Headingley.

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In spite of his absence from Test matches since March, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has regained his position as the top-ranked batsman in the ICC Test batting rankings. Steve Smith's Player of the Match performance in the second England-Australia Test at Lord's has seen him rise to second place, but Williamson's consistency over a long period of time has been rewarded. The battle for the top spots in the rankings is set to stay captivating in the days ahead. In the most recent weekly update, Steve Smith finds himself just one point behind Kane Williamson's 883 rating points, making the competition between them intense. Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne, holding the third position with 873 points, and Travis Head are also separated by a mere one point. Exciting developments have taken place for the England team as well. Ben Duckett, with impressive scores of 98 and 83 in the second Ashes Test, has soared up 24 places to break into the top 20 for the first time in his career.

Additionally, captain Ben Stokes has climbed nine places to secure the 23rd spot after his valiant innings of 155 in the second innings. Among the ICC Test rankings for batsmen, the only Indian in the top 10 is Rishabh Pant, a wicket-keeper batsman. Unfortunately, Pant has been unable to make a comeback to the field following his car accident in December of the previous year. Alongside Steve Smith, there are three other Australian batsmen in the top 10. Marnus Labuschagne holds the third position, followed by Travis Head at number four, while opener Usman Khawaja occupies the seventh spot.