Dubai(August 21, 2017): Alistair Cook has made a strong charge on the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen following a stellar performance in the day/night Test against the Windies, which England won by an innings and 209 runs at Edgbaston.
Cook not only walked away with the Player of the Match award for his 243, but his fourth career double-century also earned him six points that has put him in sixth spot in the latest rankings, which were released.
This is Cook’s highest ranking since he surged to number five in March 2013.
England captain Joe Root has returned to the 900-point mark following his 13th career century. For scoring 136, Root received 14 points, which has taken him to 905 points – 36 behind Australia captain Steve Smith, who will defend his number-one ranking in the upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh.
Cook, who achieved a career-high second place in September 2011, now has Virat Kohli firmly within his sights as the England opener is just eight points behind the India captain.
There is no change in the top 20 bowlers, but both James Anderson and Stuart Broad have gained valuable points after equally sharing 10 wickets between them with the pink ball at Edgbaston.
Blackwood, who scored 79 not out and 12, has moved up six places to 41st, while Chase, who took four for 113, has climbed four places and is now in 73rd place in the bowling chart.
Second-ranked Anderson has trimmed number-one ranked Ravindra’s Jadeja’s lead to just nine points after collecting 15 points, while seventh-ranked Broad has picked up six points to narrow Kagiso Rabada’s lead to just four points.
Meanwhile, Australia has arrived in Bangladesh for a two-Test series, fully aware that it has to win the series to retain its number-four position.
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