Cook Jumps Up Batting Test Rankings

Aug 21, 2017
Written by News Desk
Published in Sports

England opener Alastair Cook has rocketed up the ICC batting rankings after his sublime double-century in their first-Test thrashing of West Indies at Edgbaston.

Cook compiled a masterful knock of 243 off 407 balls as the hosts declared at 8-514 in the series opener – a total that proved far too great for a struggling Windies outfit.

The former skipper’s fourth double-century in Test cricket has seen him climb six spots to sixth on the Test batting charts.

Cook traded places with teammate Jonny Bairstow after the wicketkeeper-batter’s knock of 18 in Birmingham saw him shed 16 ranking points.

Somewhat surprisingly, this is Cook’s highest ranking in more than four years.

The left-hander’s Test successor Joe Root added some rankings points to his collection after an impressive hundred in his side’s maiden outing against the pink ball, but he still sits 36 points behind his Australian counterpart Steve Smith who will be out to extend his lead at the top of the charts when the series against Bangladesh begins on Sunday.

There is little movement elsewhere amongst the top 10 batters or bowlers, but number-two ranked quick James Anderson has gained ground on leading Test bowler Ravindra Jadeja after picking up five wickets against the Windies.

Anderson, England’s all-time leading Test wicket taker, now finds himself just nine points behind the India spinner.

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