DUBAI: New Zealand’s all-format captain Kane Williamson got a fortunate push in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings which propelled him to the summit.

Despite Kane Williamson reaching the supreme spot, Australia’s veteran Steve Smith is on the verge of regaining his place as the best Test batter in the world following a major shakeup in the Test Batting Rankings after a dramatic Lord’s Test.

Steve Smith scored his 32nd Test century in a Player of the Match performance in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s and it helped push the classy right-hander within one rating point of the top ranking in second place on the updated batter rankings.

England star Joe Root relinquishes the premier position following scores of 10 and 18 against Australia, with injured New Zealand veteran Kane Williamson sliding up one place to claim the top ranking just one rating point ahead of Smith.

It is the first time Kane Williamson has held the No.1 ranking since August 2021, with the Kiwi having first risen to the top back in November 2015.

Australia batters now occupy four of the top seven places on the Test batter rankings, with Marnus Labuschagne (third), Travis Head (fourth) and Usman Khawaja (seventh) all within striking distance of the No.1 spot ahead of the eagerly awaited third Ashes Test against England this week at Headingley.

Meanwhile, the shakeup also affected Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who descended in the Test Batting Rankings, slipping to the sixth position with 862 rating points.

In the Test Bowling Rankings, Australia’s captain Pat Cummins closed the gap with the top-ranked Ravichandran Ashwin by jumping two places to second overall on the latest Test rankings for bowlers, while teammate Mitchell Starc also gains two spots to rise to 14th.

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