Massive changes in ICC Rankings after exciting Ashes series finish

Australia retained the Ashes, while England leveled the series at 2-2 after a win in the fifth and final Test.

England and Australia produced a perfect test Ashes series that entertained fans from around the globe. It was an ideal series to promote test cricket between the two best sides. On top of that, the fifth and final test at the Oval ended with a fairytale ending and had everything a fan could wish for. Well, the hosts pulled off a tremendous 49-run win in the final Ashes test, courtesy of Stuart Broad’s last two wickets.

That win helped the hosts level the series at 2-2, and the trophy was shared. Though Australia retained the Ashes, England was too good to handle for the World Champions. It was an epic finish to a brilliant series that resulted in major changes in the latest ICC rankings of tests, and the top performers were rewarded for some excellent performances.

Major changes in ICC Rankings after the Fifth and Final Ashes test at the Oval

Former English captain Joe Root got rewarded for his performances and moved up one spot to No. 2 in the Test rankings for batsmen. Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson is at the top. Harry Brook, who scored 85 runs in the first innings of the final test, jumped two places to the ninth position with his highest career rating. Jonny Bairstow jumped two places to 17th, while opener Zak Crawley moved to 29th from 35th.

For Australia, Steve Smith made a jump of three spots to third place behind Root and Williamson, while Usman Khawaja moved to 7th place. In the bowler’s rankings, Ravi Ashwin is still at the top, but veteran English pacer Stuart Broad, who retired after the fifth test, made a big jump after picking up 22 wickets in the series. Broad moved to the fourth spot in the latest rankings.

Apart from him, Mark Wood jumped 8 places up to 21st, while Chris Woakes, who was the Man of the Series for England, moved 8 places up to 23rd. For Australia, Mitchell Starc was the Man of the Series, moving to 12th place, and spinner Todd Murphy moved up nine places to 57th. On the other hand, Pakistan, which whitewashed Sri Lanka 2-0, also had some good performances.

Abdullah Shafique (moved up 27 spots to 21st), Mohammad Rizwan (jumped up four places to equal 29th), and Agha Salman (moved up 23 spots to 35th). Naseem Shah also gained 13 spots to 42nd place. For India, after an impressive performance in ODIs against West Indies, Kuldeep Yadav jumped to 14th from 22nd.

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