Babar Azam returns to the top three of the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings.

Travis Head of Australia is the newest competitor for the top slot, having risen to a career-high second place in the latest ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings.

Head moves up two spots to second in the rankings, trailing only New Zealand veteran Kane Williamson, who has already scored 266 runs at an average of 44.33 in the Ashes series against England.

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Head scored 39 and 77 in the most recent Test of that series in Headingley, helping the visitors come within a whisker of a third successive Ashes victory.

Head’s rise to the top of the batting rankings has resulted in yet another reshuffle, with Pakistan captain Babar Azam jumping three places to third and fellow Australians Steve Smith (fourth), Marnus Labuschagne (fifth), and England’s Joe Root (sixth) all dropping one spot in an enthralling race for top billing.

Following England’s close three-wicket victory in Leeds, young gun Harry Brook rose one position to a career-high rating and 12th place in the rankings after his magnificent half-century in the second innings, while skipper Ben Stokes rose five spots to 18th.

The latest Test bowler rankings also favoured England’s seamers, with veteran right-armer Stuart Broad rising four places to sixth behind India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and returning pacer Mark Wood rising nine places to 26th overall following his Player of the Match performance against Australia.

Australia in a hurry Mitchell Starc took seven wickets in the Headingley Test, earning him a three-spot climb in the bowler rankings to 11th overall.

The recent ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier competition in Zimbabwe resulted in some adjustments to the most recent ODI standings.

It was no surprise that a slew of Sri Lankan players reaped the benefits after their unbeaten run at the event earned them the title of champions and helped them qualify.

Pathum Nissanka was the event’s second-highest run-scorer, climbing nine places to equal 29th on the batters’ rankings, while spinner Maheesh Theekshana took 21 wickets, one less than compatriot and fellow tweaker Wanindu Hasaranga, and rose 13 places to 19th on the bowlers’ list.

Logan van Beek of the Netherlands (up 14 places on the bowler rankings to 52nd) was the other notable mover after the Qualifier tournament, and there was also eye-catching progress from a few of players after the ODI series between Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The biggest movers on the list for ODI batters were century makers Ibrahim Zadran (up 11 places to 16th) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (up 37 spots to 45th), while star spinner Rashid Khan (up three spots to fourth) and left-armer Fazalhaq Farooqi (up 58 places to equal 33rd) also made some ground.