Superstar batsman drops to No.2 in the world following Australia’s first Ashes Test loss in Wales
Steve Smith has been dethroned as the world’s premier Test batsman in the wake of Australia’s 169-run Ashes loss in Cardiff. Smith entered the five match series as the the No.1 ranked Test batsman after a golden summer against India on home soil and a triumphant tour of the Caribbean last month where he posted a career-best 199 in the second Test in Jamaica. But after scoring a pair of 33s in the Welsh capital, Smith has relinquished his mantle as the world’s best willow wielder to South Africa’s AB de Villiers.
While Smith drops a spot, Mitchell Starc has reached a career-high 589 rating points to vault into 17th spot in the Test bowling rankings, one position behind off-spinning teammate Nathan Lyon. Starc pushed through the pain to claim match figures of 7-174 with an ankle injury, including 5-114 in the first innings – the third five-wicket haul of his 18-Test career.
Josh Hazlewood (5-132) has also reached a career-best 548 rating points to be perched on the edge of the top 20 in 21st, while retired fast bowler Ryan Harris has been removed from the rankings altogether, leaving Mitchell Johnson in seventh as Australia’s highest rated Test bowler. For England, Joe Root’s 134 and 60 has seen the classy right-hander move into the top five and slot into fourth spot with a personal-best rating of 884. Root has been compared to Smith and India’s Virat Kohli as one of the brightest young batsman in the world, and after jumping three spots from seventh, the 24-year-old has his Ashes rival in his sights.
