Alastair Cook’s match-winning 243 against Windies in the Pink Ball Test has helped him close the gap on fifth-ranked Virat Kohli in the latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen.
This is the fourth time in his career that the left-hander has amassed a 200 plus score, which helped him jump six spots to sixth place – the best ranking he has achieved since he reached number five in March 2013.
The England opener was instrumental in bailing his side out of trouble from 39 for 2 in the first innings. He also shared a 248-run stand for the third wicket with captain Joe Root, who himself gained 14 points after recording his 13th Test hundred to retain his second place behind Australia’s Steven Smith.
Although there was no change in the top 20 among the bowlers, James Andersonand Stuart Broad picked up 15 and six points to narrow the gap on the first-ranked Ravindra Jadeja and sixth placed Kagiso Rabada respectively.
31-year-old Broad, who bagged five wickets in the game, surpassed Ian Botham’s tally of 383 wickets to become England’s second highest wicket-taker in Tests.
